The elderly population is growing in every part of the world and will double to 14 percent from 7 percent of the global population within the next 30 years, according to a report by the U.S. Census Bureau. The number of people older than 65 was estimated at 506 million as of mid-2008 and will reach 1.4 billion by 2040, according to the report, "An Aging World: 2008," commissioned by the U.S. National Institute on Aging. The most rapid rise in the elderly population is in developing countries, where the increase in the number of people 65 and older more than doubles the rates in developed nations. Last year, 313 million, or 62 percent, of the world's elderly lived in developing countries. The number is projected to rise to more than 1 billion, 76 percent of the world's 65-and-older population, by 2040, according to the report.
The number of people older than 65 was estimated at 506 million as of mid-2008 and will reach 1.4 billion by 2040, according to the report, "An Aging World: 2008," commissioned by the U.S. National Institute on Aging.
The most rapid rise in the elderly population is in developing countries, where the increase in the number of people 65 and older more than doubles the rates in developed nations. Last year, 313 million, or 62 percent, of the world's elderly lived in developing countries. The number is projected to rise to more than 1 billion, 76 percent of the world's 65-and-older population, by 2040, according to the report.
