Seniors Will Surpass Young People in Numbers by 2040

According to a new report released today, the world's senior population is currently in a pronounced growing trend, which means that, fairly soon, for the first time in history, its numbers will significantly surpass those of the young segment. The figures the new research provides show that at least 1.3 billion elderly people will live by 2040. The paper, created by the US Census Bureau, reveals that 14 percent of the global population will have over 65 years of age within three decades, and that, at this point, more than 506 million citizens of this age or older exist.

“People aged 65 and over will soon outnumber children under age 5 for the first time in history,” the report, authored by Census Bureau experts Kevin Kinsella and Wan He, reads. “Aging is affecting every country in every part of the world. While there are important differences between developed and developing countries, global aging is changing the social and economic nature of the planet and presenting difficult challenges,” National Institute of Aging's Richard Suzman adds, quoted by Reuters. The Institute has been the organization that has commissioned the new research.

The paper also reveals that the age group over 80, dubbed the “oldest old,” will increase by 2.3 times from 2008 to 2040, and that the rise will become significantly accentuated in the years after 2010. The trend holds true for all countries, regardless of their level of development and standard of living. “Shrinking ratios of workers to pensioners and people spending a larger portion of their lives in retirement increasingly tax existing health and pension systems. In a few years' time, just after 2010, the numbers and proportions of older people (especially the oldest old) will begin to rise rapidly in most developed and many developing countries,” the report continues.

It also says that the growing number of seniors will place a large amount of strain on its children and grandchildren, in terms of economic struggles. “The increase is primarily the result of high fertility levels after World War II and secondarily, but increasingly, the result of reduced death rates at older ages,” the authors further write. “By 2040, today's developing countries are likely to be home to more than 1 billion people aged 65 and over, 76 percent of the projected world total.”