In some of the world’s regions, people who are 65+ are already beginning to outnumber their younger counterparts, and by 2050, they will, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Northern America, including the United States and Canada, will have joined Europe as a region where the 65+ population outweighs those younger than 15 in the next three decades, the Census reports. Asia, Latin America and Australia and New Zealand will also see this phenomenon, the census predicts.
China, with its rapidly aging population, will experience the shift this year in 2012, according to the report. With the exception of Africa, the remainder of the world regions will see their population weigh heavily to the oldest generations, with the overall population more than doubling from 8% today to 17% in 2050.
With the changes, will come changes in disease patters, health care burdens, pension systems, labor force and other economic values, the Census writes.
The Census uses its International Data Base to make these projections based on age and sex estimates for countries with populations of 5,000 or more.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
