Chapter 9

Population Aging

Chapter Outline• What Is Old?• Population Aging• Individual Aging As A Factor In

Population Aging• The Social Context Of Aging And The

Life Course• The Sex And Age Structure Of The

Older Population

What Is Old?• In the U.S. and much of the world, old age

has come to be defined as beginning at age 65.

• As the number older people increase there are changes in the organization of society.

• Societies react differently to older than to younger people, producing the social changes that accompanying population aging.

How Many Older People Are There?• As of 2004, there were 462 million

people in the world aged 65 and older, according to United Nations estimates.

• The older population accounts for 7% of the total world population but this percentage varies from one part of the world to another.

Number of Older People is Growing Rapidly

World 1975 2000 2025

Total Pop. 4,068,109 6,070,581 7,851,455

Pop. aged 65+ 231,182 419,197 822,876

%65+ 5.68% 6.91% 10.48%

r(total) 1.92% 1.60% 1.03%

r(65+) 2.28% 2.38% 2.70%

Where are the Older Populations?• As of 2000, 14.7% of Europe’s

population was 65 and older.• It is projected that by 2050 that will

have risen to 27.9%.• By 2050 we can expect that 10% of

the population in every region of the world except sub-Saharan Africa will be aged 65 and older.

Where Are the People Who Are 65 and Older• Europe had more than 100 million older

people in 2000.• By 2025, Europe’s older population will

number nearly 150 million. There will likely be nearly a quarter of a

billion in Eastern Asia, and more than 150 million in south central Asia (which includes India).

Top 10 Countries: % Aged 65 and Older, 2004

Rank CountryNo. 65+

(thousands)% 65+

1 Italy 11,066 19.30

2 Japan 24,517 19.18

3 Greece 2,056 18.73

4 Germany 14,967 18.14

5 Belgium 1,817 17.58

Top 10 Countries: % Aged 65 and Older, 2004

Rank CountryNo. 65+

(thousands)% 65+

6 Sweden 1,561 17.57

7 Spain 7,049 17.14

8 Switzerland 1,216 16.97

9 Croatia 743 16.83

10 Latvia 377 16.48

Top 10 Countries: Number Aged 65 and Older, 2004

Rank CountryNo. 65+

(thousands)% 65+

1 China 97,150 7.40

2 India 56,509 5.23

3 U.S. 36,393 12.25

4 Japan 24,517 19.18

5 Russian Federation 19,893 13.97

Top 10 Countries: Number Aged 65 and Older, 2004

Rank CountryNo. 65+

(thousands)% 65+

6 Germany 14,967 18.14

7 Indonesia 11,885 5.34

8 Italy 11,066 19.30

9 Brazil 10,287 5.69

10 France 9,839 16.28

Fertility Rate and Life Expectancy

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

Life Expectancy 2 3 4 5 6

30 a a a 3.9 2.8

40 a a 5.6 3.8 2.7

50 a 8.8 5.5 3.7 2.6

Fertility Rate and Life Expectancy

Total Fertility Rate (TFR)

Life Expectancy 2 3 4 5 6

60 15.0 8.8 5.4 3.6 2.5

70 16.5 9.2 5.7 3.7 2.6

75 18.0 9.9 6.1 4.0 2.8

Physical Aging

1. Physiological changes that take place tend to be steady but gradual through adulthood into old age.

2. The more complex the bodily function, the more rapid its rate of decline.

3. Individuals age at different rates, and different tissues and systems within one person may also age at different rates.

Physical Aging

4. Aging brings with it a lowered ability to respond to stress.

5. Aging brings a diminished ability to resist disease.

Modernization:Status of the Elderly

• The status of older persons was relatively high in premodern, agrarian societies.

• Things began to change as societies modernized and people began to live longer.

• A high level of mortality increases the odds that a younger person will be able to inherit the family business, or move into a position in society vacated by the deaths of other people.

Age of U.S.’s Wealthiest People in 2003

Older Americans More Likely to Vote

Feminization of Old Age• Women live longer than men in

almost every human society. • In the U.S. in 1930, there were equal

numbers of males and females age 65 and older.

• At age 75 and older, 2/3 of the people alive in the United States are women.

% of U.S. Old-Old Population Increasing

Retirement• In 1890, 75% of men remained in the

labor force past age 64.• By 2003, 19% were still employed at that

age, although 32% of men from 65–69 were still in the labor force.

• In 2003, 11% of women 65 or older were working, at ages 65–69 the rate was 23%.

Rise of Centenarians • Centenarians are one of the fastest-

growing ages in the population.• In the United States, there were probably

about 2,300 centenarians in 1950,• In 1990, that number had increased to

more than 30,000.• There were more than 50,000 counted in

Census 2000, most of whom were women.