At the beginning of the fifties, the elderly accounted for 5.6% of the population. In the 2000s, they reached 8.3% and will reach 25% in 2050.
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Data collected by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) showed that the aging process in Latin America is accelerating. According to the information collected, by 2030, it is expected that more people over the age of 60 will be registered than those under the age of 15. (Read: A little stress can be key to healthy aging)
The organization stressed that despite the fact that life expectancy increased by three years between 2000 and 2019, in both men and women, it is estimated that they suffer from health problems at an average of 9.7 years for men and 12.3 years for women.
According to the Pan American Health Organization, the world’s population is growing at an increasingly slower rate, making the aging population increasingly larger. In fact, at the start of the 1950s, senior citizens accounted for 5.6% of the population. In the 2000s, they reached 8.3% and will reach 25% in 2050.
“This will lead to the fact that, for the first time, around 2050, the population aged 60 or older will be numerically larger than the population aged 0-19, that is, around 2050, Latin America and the Caribbean will see approximately 190 million elderly people and a similar number of young people (176 million), which is twice the total population of the subregion in 1950.”, the entity added. (You can read: The Man Who Advocates the Aging Revolution)
in Studies series The entity’s experts, conducted and published by the Pan American Health Organization, analyzed various aspects of aging and the health status of elderly people in the region, with an average life expectancy in 2019 of 77.2 years.
These studies show “significant progress and serve to standardize data and reporting on aging, health and well-being for America’s seniors,” Jarbas Barbosa, regional director for the Pan American Health Organization, said in a statement.
With these apparent variables, Barbosa noted, it will be possible to “identify, understand and respond to the many challenges and opportunities that the deep and accelerating aging of the Americas will present.” Among the factors that can affect quality of life are poverty and inequality.
The agency added that the conditions in which people live their old age were also affected. Currently, the main challenge, warned the Pan American Health Organization, is “to be able to live in a healthier way for the vast majority of years, a goal that requires the application of a series of strategies throughout life, not just in old age”.
For this, it is also necessary to develop enabling environments for the elderly and integrated and focused healthcare, especially during primary care. (You may be interested in: Colombia, the challenges of an aging country)
The entity explained that changes in demographic indicators are closely related to human development and transformation processes, such as epidemiological processes. Added to this panoramic picture are the persistent inequalities in the subregion, in social, economic and cultural terms.
“This context, especially given that the process of population aging will emerge at a high speed and intensity, places the subregion in a scenario of many social, economic and health challenges,” the entity concluded.
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