30 Countries with Highest Proportion of Older Adults
In this article, we will be covering the 30 countries with the highest proportion of older adults. If you wish to skip our detailed analysis, you can move directly to the 5 Countries with Highest Proportion of Older Adults.
An Uptick in Population Ageing
Currently, we are witnessing a trend of global population ageing as the number and population proportions of older people is on the rise. As reported by WHO, 1 in 6 people globally will be aged 60 years or above by 2030. While those aged above 60 are expected to double by 2050, adults aged 80 years or older are expected to triple between 2020 and 2050. This trend of populations living till older ages which emerged in high-income countries has been forecasted to influence low-and middle-income nations. In 2050, two-thirds of the world’s older population will be residing in low- and middle-income countries. To have a better idea of country-level population demographics, you can view countries with the lowest median age in the world.
According to a report by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, improvements in health and reduction in fertility have significantly led to a rise in population ageing across the globe. Other contributing factors include better access to medical solutions and education, improved family planning, and gender equality. These factors have driven a gradual but permanent shift towards older ages.
Region-Wise Ageing Analysis
Regions including Europe and Northern America, Australia and New Zealand as well as Eastern and South-Eastern Asia continue to see an ageing population. The proportion of adults older than 65 exceeds 10% in the majority of the countries in these regions. Population ageing is in a relatively early stage in most of Sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania. Simultaneously, the trend is at an intermediate level in Central and Southern Asia, Western Asia and Northern Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean. In this regard, countries with the most centenarians (people over 100) have also been previously covered.
Healthcare Companies that are Working on Improving Life Expectancy
Life expectancy at birth has improved globally as a result of the decline in mortality throughout life. This improvement is largely driven by the advancement in health and medicine. It has been noticed that the years lived in good health have increased and accounted for a substantial rise in the overall life span. Companies working to improve health conditions across the world include Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT), AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV), and Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS). Let’s take a look at what these firms have been up to. You can also take a look at the most valuable healthcare companies in the world.
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) serves as a multinational healthcare company. The company helps people live healthier lives in more than 160 countries worldwide through its breakthrough products in nutrition, diagnostics, medical devices, and branded generic pharmaceuticals. On March 6, Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) reported that GLP-1 medicines tend to work better with the company’s FreeStyle Libre technology for patients with Type 2 diabetes. The combined use of GLP-1 medicines and FreeStyle Libre technology reduced the HbA1c, a measurement of average blood glucose level over three months. GLP-1 medicines tend to lower blood sugar levels and are prescribed to those suffering from Type 2 diabetes while the Freestyle Libre technology is the most widely used continuous glucose monitoring system which enables more than 5.5 million people to monitor their glucose levels.
AbbVie Inc. (NYSE:ABBV) delivers innovative medicines and solutions to improve health conditions in areas including immunology, oncology, neuroscience, and eye care. On March 22, the company reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given full approval for ELAHERE for patients with ovarian cancer. The antibody-drug conjugate ELAHERE is a significant development since it showed overall survival benefit and decreased the risk of cancer progression by 35% in patients with platinum-resistant ovarian cancer. Ovarian cancer tends to be a major cause of death from gynecological cancers in the US. Typically, patients in this case undergo surgery followed by platinum-based chemotherapy which unfortunately leads to the development of platinum-resistant disease in them.
Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) addresses the modern-day disease burdens through its innovative medicines. On March 22, the company reported that Fabhalta was given a positive opinion by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA). Through this development, Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) could potentially help treat adults with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) who have hemolytic anemia. Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a chronic blood disorder. Fabhalta aided in controlling the destruction of red blood cells (RBCs) within the blood vessels and will serve as the first oral monotherapy available to such patients in Europe once approved by the European Commission.
Now that we have discussed the population demographics and solutions available for ageing populations worldwide, we can move to the 30 countries with the highest proportion of older adults.
30 Countries with Highest Proportion of Older Adults
Our Methodology:
In order to compile a list of the 30 countries with the highest proportion of older adults, we sourced data from the 2022 Revision of World Population Prospects by the United Nations. Moving on, we acquired the percentage of the population aged above 65 for all countries and used it as our metric. The countries in the following list have been ranked in ascending order of their percentages of population aged above 65, as of 2023.
30 Countries with Highest Proportion of Older Adults
30. United Kingdom
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 19.5%
The United Kingdom’s population aged above 65 was recorded at 19.5% in 2023. This proportion of older adults was previously 19.2% in 2022.
29. Canada
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 19.5%
According to the UN, 19.5% of Canada’s population was aged above 65 years in 2023 while 13.5% was older than 75 years thereby ranking the country among other countries with the highest proportion of older adults.
28. Malta
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 19.6%
The island country of Malta is situated in southern Europe. As of 2023, the country hosts 19.6% of those older than 65 years of age.
27. Switzerland
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 19.7%
Switzerland is a country situated in west-central Europe. In 2023, 19.7% of the people in the country were older than 65 years. This represents a relatively higher older adult proportion.
26. Hungary
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 19.7%
Hungary is in Central Europe and ranks as one of the countries with the highest proportion of older adults. In 2023, adults aged above 65 in the country were 19.7%.
25. Liechtenstein
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 20.0%
Liechtenstein is a relatively smaller European country where adults are in a high proportion. The percentage of those above 65 in the country was recorded at 20.0% in 2023.
24. Belgium
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 20.1%
Adults older than 65 in Belgium increased from 19.7% in 2022 to 20.1% in 2023. The country holds one of the highest proportions of older adults among all other countries.
23. Austria
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 20.2%
While 20.2% of the population was aged above 65 in Austria in 2023, the proportion of adults over 70 years of age was 14.5%. Hence, the country has a high share of adults.
22. Sweden
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 20.4%
The 30 countries with the highest proportion of adults rank Sweden as well. Those aged above 65 years were recorded at 20.4% of the total population in 2023.
21. Serbia
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 20.5%
Serbia is positioned at the crossroads of Southeast and Central Europe. Although the share of adults who are older than 65 years was reported to decrease slightly from 20.6% in 2022 to 20.5% in 2023, the overall proportion is still high.
20. Denmark
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 20.7%
Denmark is another European country with a high share of adults. The country’s population aged above 65 years was 20.7% in 2023.
19. Netherlands
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 20.7%
20.7% of the population in the Netherlands was older than 65 years of age in 2023. The country also had a sizeable portion of those aged above 70 years.
18. Spain
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 20.7%
Spain is situated in Southwestern Europe and hosts a high share of older adults. The population of Spain older than 65 was recorded at 20.7% in 2023.
17. Czechia
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 20.8%
Adults aged above 65 years account for 20.8% of Czechia’s population while those older than 70 years were 14.7%. Hence, the country is home to a higher proportion of adults who tend to be old.
16. San Marino
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 20.9%
San Marino is a European microstate where older adults are in high proportion. Those aged above 65 years climbed from 20.5% in 2022 to 20.9% in 2023.
15. Estonia
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 20.9%
Located by the Baltic Sea in Europe, Estonia is another European country with one of the highest shares of adults who are old. In 2023, the percentage of Estonia’s population older than 65 years was 20.9%.
14. Lithuania
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 21.2%
In 2022, 20.8% of Lithuania’s population was over 65 years old. This percentage increased to 21.2% in 2023. Therefore, the country has a higher older adult proportion.
13. Hong Kong
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 21.4%
Hong Kong’s population aged above 65 years was recorded at 21.4% in 2023. Simultaneously, the proportion of adults older than 70 years was reported to be 14.3%.
12. Slovenia
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 21.4%
Since 2022, the proportion of adults both those older than 65 years and those older than 70 years has risen in Slovenia. Therefore, Slovenia ranks as one of the countries with the highest share of older adults.
11. France
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 22.0%
While those aged above 80 in France remained constant from 2022 to 2023, adults above 65 years went up to 22.0%. This ranks France as another country where the percentage of older adults is high.
10. Latvia
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 22.2%
Latvia ranks 10th among the countries with the highest proportion of older adults. According to the UN, the percentage of people in Latvia above 65 years was recorded at 22.2% in 2023.
9. Bulgaria
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 22.3%
Bulgaria is located in Southeast Europe. 22.3% of the country’s people were aged above 65 years in 2023 thereby ranking the country in this list.
8. Croatia
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 22.7%
The adult population aged above 65 in Croatia amounted to 22.7% in 2023. Hence, the country has one of the highest proportions of older adults in the world.
7. Germany
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 22.7%
In Germany, adult population proportions by category were recorded at 22.7% for those above 65, 16.6% for those above 70, 11.4% for those above 75, and 7.6% for those above 80 years of age. This depicts a higher proportion of older people in Germany.
6. Greece
Percentage of Population Aged Above 65: 23.1%
A relatively higher share of old adults resides in Greece. This is evident from 23.1% of the country’s population being aged above 65 in 2023.
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Disclosure: None. 30 Countries with Highest Proportion of Older Adults is originally published on Insider Monkey.
