World Population Ageing 2020 Highlights

1 WorldPopulationAgeing2020 HighlightsUnited nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population DivisionThe Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the united nations Secretariat is a vital interface between global policies in the economic, social and environmental spheres and national action. The Department works in three main interlinked areas: (i) it compiles, generates and analyses a wide range of economic, social and environmental data and information on which States Members of the united nations draw to review common problems and take stock of policy options; (ii) it facilitates the negotiations of Member States in many intergovernmental bodies on joint courses of action to address ongoing or emerging global challenges; and (iii) it advises interested Governments on the ways and means of translating policy frameworks developed in united nations conferences and summits into programmes at the country level and, through technical assistance, helps build national Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs provides the international community with timely and accessible Population data and analysis of Population trends and development outcomes for all countries and areas of the World .

2 To this end, the Division undertakes regular studies of Population size and characteristics and of all three components of Population change (fertility, mortality and migration). Founded in 1946, the Population Division provides substantive support on Population and development issues to the united nations General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Commission on Population and Development. The Division leads or participates in various interagency coordination mechanisms of the united nations system. It also contributes to strengthening the capacity of Member States to monitor Population trends and to address current and emerging Population citationUnited nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2020). World Population Ageing 2020 Highlights : Living arrangements of older persons (ST/ ).This report is available in electronic format on the Division s website at: For further information about this report, please contact the Office of the Director, Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, united nations , New York, 10017, USA, by Fax: 1 212 963 2147 or by email at: informationFront cover: Benin, West Africa, Porto Novo, Older women in her living room by Eric Lafforgue, 2015 ( )Back cover: Older couple with masks bracing COVID-19 by united nations /Karoline Schmid, 2020 united nations PublicationSales No.

3 : : 978-92-1-148347-5 eISBN: 978-92-1-005193-4 Copyright united nations , figures and tables in this publication can be reproduced without prior permission under a Creative Commons license (CC BY IGO), available from of Economic and Social AffairsPopulation DivisionWorld Population Ageing 2020 Highlights Living arrangements of older personsUnited NationsNew York, 2020 AcknowledgementsThis report was prepared by Yumiko Kamiya, Nicole Mun Sim Lai and Karoline Schmid. The authors wish to thank John Wilmoth, Jorge Bravo, Bela Hovy and Stephen Kisambira for their inputs in reviewing the draft. The assistance of Neena Koshy, Bintou Papoute Ouedraogo, and Donna Culpepper in editing and desktop publishing is Executive summary ..1 Introduction ..3 Living arrangements of older persons ..7 COVID-19 mortality among older persons ..17 Policy implications and recommendations ..25 References ..27 Annex tables ..31 Notes on regions, development groups, countries and areasThe designations employed in this publication and the material presented in it do not imply the expression of any opinions whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the united nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.

4 The term country as used in this report also refers, as appropriate, to territories or this publication, data for countries and areas are often aggregated in six continental regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Northern America, and Oceania. Further information on continental regions is available from Countries and areas have also been grouped into geographic regions based on the classification being used to track progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals of the united nations (see: ). The designation of more developed and less developed , or developed and developing , is intended for statistical purposes and does not express a judgment about the stage in the development process reached by a particular country or area. More developed regions comprise all countries and areas of Europe and Northern America, plus Australia, New Zealand and Japan.

5 Less developed regions comprise all countries and areas of Africa, Asia (excluding Japan), Latin America and the Caribbean, and Oceania (excluding Australia and New Zealand). The group of least developed countries (LDCs) includes 47 countries, located in sub-Saharan Africa (32), Northern Africa and Western Asia (2), Central and Southern Asia (4), Eastern and South-Eastern Asia (4), Latin America and the Caribbean (1), and Oceania (4). Further information is available at group of Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) includes 32 countries or territories, located in sub-Saharan Africa (16), Northern Africa and Western Asia (2), Central and Southern Asia (8), Eastern and South-Eastern Asia (2), Latin America and the Caribbean (2), and Europe and Northern America (2). Further information is available at The group of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) includes 58 countries or territories, located in the Caribbean (29), the Pacific (20), and the Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and South China Sea (AIMS) (9).

6 Further information is available at classification of countries and areas by income level is based on gross national income (GNI) per capita as reported by the World Bank (June 2018). These income groups are not available for all countries and areas Further information is available at: 1 World Population Ageing 2020 HighlightsUnited nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population DivisionExecutive summaryThe World continues to experience an unprecedented and sustained change in the age structure of the global Population , driven by increasing levels of life expectancy and decreasing levels of fertility. People are living longer lives, and both the share and the number of older persons in the total Population are growing rapidly. Globally, there were 727 million persons aged 65 years or over in 2020. Since women live longer than men, on average, they comprise the majority of older persons, especially at advanced ages.

7 Over the next three decades, the number of older persons worldwide is projected to more than double, reaching over billion in 2050. All regions will see an increase in the size of the older Population between 2020 and 2050. Globally, the share of the Population aged 65 years or over is expected to increase from per cent in 2020 to around per cent in Ageing is occurring alongside broader social and economic changes taking place throughout the World . Declines in fertility, changes in patterns of marriage, cohabitation and divorce, increased levels of education among younger generations, and continued rural-to-urban and international migration, in tandem with rapid economic development, are reshaping the context in which older persons live, including the size and composition of their households and their living arrangements. In Western European countries and the united States of America, intergenerational co-residence has declined dramatically, and most older persons now live either in single-person households or in households consisting of a couple only or a couple and their unmarried children.

8 Despite the persistence of traditional family structures and cultural norms that favour multi-generational households, many countries of the less developed regions are experiencing a slow shift in family and household composition towards smaller families and household types. Family structures and household living arrangements can change quickly in response to major events or crises affecting family members and kin relations. For example, multi-generation households re-appeared in the united States of America and in some European countries in response to the economic crisis of 2008, while skip-generation families have become more common in sub-Saharan Africa as a means of caring for millions of children orphaned by the HIV/AIDS pandemic since the the World older women are more likely than older men to live alone. Older women are also more likely to live in skip-generation households or in extended-family households, whereas older men are more likely to live with a spouse only.

9 Further, older men are more likely than older women to live with children under age 20, while older women are slightly more likely than older men to live with older children. These differences are explained to a large extent by the typical age difference between spouses and by the reproductive life spans of women and men. Since husbands are typically older than their wives, and since there is no male equivalent of menopause, men are more likely than women to co-reside with children under age 20 when they reach older ages. Co-residence with adult children is a common mechanism of support for parents at older ages, which may be triggered by a decline in their physical or mental health and an increased need for personal care. In other cases, co-residence is a way for parents to support adult children who never left the parental home or have returned to cope with economic hardship or adverse life events. Yet another situation is an older person who moves into the household of an adult child to help care for grandchildren.

10 The living arrangements of older people are an important determinant of their economic well-being as well as their physical and psychosocial health and life satisfaction. Research has also found an association between mortality risks at older ages and an individual s living arrangements. Older persons living alone or in institutions, for example, have higher overall mortality risks than those living with a spouse or other family members. The living arrangements of older persons can also have important macroeconomic implications by shaping the demand for housing, social services, energy, water and other Population Ageing 2020 HighlightsUnited nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population DivisionSince early 2020, the World has been impacted by the rapid spread of COVID-19, which continues to expand globally. By the end of September 2020, over 33 million cases had been reported worldwide, with nearly 850,000 deaths attributed to the disease.