Publish dateTuesday 1 October 2013 - 11:49
Story Code : 75834
Grow old in Sweden, but avoid an Afghan retirement, data shows
Sweden is the best country for older people; Afghanistan the worst – but general affluence does not necessarily mean better conditions for the over-60s, according to the first global index on ageing.

While Sweden's top ranking – followed by Norway, Germany, the Netherlands and Canada – may be predictable, the Global AgeWatch index throws up some surprising results.

The US, the world's richest country, languishes in eighth place, while the UK fails to make the top 10, residing instead at No 13. Sri Lanka ranks 36, well above Pakistan at 89, despite similar levels of gross domestic product (GDP). Bolivia and Mauritius score higher than the size of their economies may suggest, while the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China are a mixed bag. Brazil and China rank relatively high on the index; India and Russia sit much lower.

"This survey shows that history counts," said Mark Gorman, director of the HelpAge International advocacy group. "The top-ranked countries are what you would expect, but Scandinavian countries were not wealthy when they [introduced] universal pensions.

"The older population in Sri Lanka today is benefiting from good basic education and healthcare – those countries made certain policy choices. Everybody faces scarce resources, but they should not forget that when they make investment decisions, they should also address issues of old age."

The index, developed with the UN fund for population and development, spans 91 countries and 89% of the world's older people. The survey comes amid a major demographic shift: by 2050, there is expected to be 2 billion people aged 60 and over, who will comprise more than a fifth of the world's population.

Population ageing – when older people account for an increasingly large proportion of people – is happening fastest in developing countries. More than two-thirds of older people live in poor countries; by 2050, this proportion is expected to be about four-fifths.

While it took 115 years for the older population of France to double from 7% to 14% between 1865 and 1980, Brazil is likely to make the same shift between 2011 and 2032 – in just 21 years.

The index shows that the fastest ageing countries – Jordan, Laos, Mongolia, Nicaragua and Vietnam, where the number of older people is predicted to more than triple by 2050 – fall into the lower half of the ranking, suggesting that policymakers need to tackle ageing head-on if they are to adequately support their populations.

There are gender differences among ageing populations, with women generally outliving men. In 2012, for every 84 men aged 60 and over, there were 100 women. Lack of paid work (hence savings), less decision-making power in the family and vulnerability to violence contribute towards the disadvantage many women face in old age.

However, if appropriate measures are implemented, population ageing does not inevitably lead to significantly higher healthcare spending, according to the report, which highlights the importance of long-term investments in education and healthcare for older people.

Bolivia, ranked 46, despite being one of the poorest countries, has introduced progressive policies for older people, with a national plan on ageing, free healthcare and a non-contributory universal pension. Nepal, ranked 77, introduced a basic pension in 1995 for people over the age of 70 without other pension income. Though limited in value and eligibility and with uneven coverage, it is an example of how a poor country has chosen to make a start in addressing poverty in old age.

Good basic healthcare introduced decades ago in Chile and Costa Rica has served the ageing populations of those countries. A good education system – basic literacy is crucial for older people as they deal with the pensions bureaucracy – is of great benefit later in life.

In the Philippines, older people have benefited from the educational reforms introduced after independence in 1946, which made elementary and high school education compulsory. The same is true for Armenia, which, like other countries of the former Soviet Union, benefited from a robust education system.

South Korea, a surprisingly low 67 on the ageing index, performed worse than its peers on a GDP-per-head basis, partly because it introduced a pension only recently.

The ageing index is calculated using 13 indicators under four headings: income security, healthcare, employment and education, and an enabling environment. All indicators have equal weight, except for pension income coverage, life expectancy at 60, healthy life expectancy at 60, and psychological wellbeing. These categories were given increased weighting because of better data quality, and countries were included only if there was sufficient data.

Professor Sir Richard Jolly, creator of the human development index, said: "This ground-breaking index broadens the way we understand the needs and opportunities of older people through its pioneering application of human development methodology. It challenges countries in every part of the world to raise their sights as to what is possible."
Country rankings for various indicators and overall
Click headings to sort the table
                  Income       Health     Employment &       Enabling             Final
                  Security      Status      Education           environment         ranking
                   rank          rank        rank                       rank


Sweden          8                   7              5                      5                     1
Norway           3                  13             1                      22                   2
Germany         9                  6               6                      6                    3
Netherlands     4                  18            11                     1                     4
Canada          26                  2              9                      9                     5
Switzerland    28                  1             12                      4                     6
New Zealand  43                  3              7                     13                     7 
United States  36                 24             2                     16                     8
Iceland          15                  9             18                     7                      9
Japan            27                  5             10                    19                     10
Austria            5                 17             42                     2                      11
Ireland          24                 14             32                     3                      12
UK                10                 19             24                    17                      13
Australia        57                  4               4                     25                      14
Finland         14                  21             27                    18                      15
Luxembourg   1                  16             55                    11                      16
Denmark       21                  40            20                    10                      17
France           2                   31            41                    15                      18
Chile             42                  10            23                    39                      19
Slovenia        22                  32            51                    12                      20
Israel            56                  20            13                    31                      21
Spain            31                  39            50                    14                      22
Uruguay        18                  33            29                    42                      23
Belgium         41                  23            45                    29                      24
Czech Republic 13                38            22                    61                      25
Argentina       11                  37            34                    59                      26
Italy                6                  15            62                    53                      27
Costa Rica      60                  11            48                    34                      28
Estonia           35                 58             8                     62                      29
Panama          55                 25            46                    48                      30
Brazil              12                 41            68                    40                      31
Ecuador          58                 12            49                    44                      32
Mauritius         7                   56            66                    26                      33
Portugal          17                  29            76                    37                      34
China             66                  51             40                    24                      35
Sri Lanka        67                  45             37                    27                      36
Georgia          45                  68             14                    54                      37
Malta             37                  27             77                    41                      38
Albania          23                  63             30                    56                       39
Hungary        19                   57             39                   65                       40
Croatia           51                  43              52                   57                       41
Thailand         59                  46              78                   8                        42
Peru               65                  30              31                  67                       43
Philippines       73                  70              17                  21                       44
Latvia             33                   62              15                  77                       45
Bolivia             48                  60               25                 64                       46
Bulgaria          32                   59              44                  71                       47
Romania         29                   64              38                  68                       48
Slovakia          16                   53              36                  81                       49
Lithuania         47                   52              16                  83                       50
Armenia          40                   75               3                   80                       51
Tajikistan         50                  79               28                  50                       52
Viet Nam          64                 36               75                   32                      53
Colombia          68                 26               63                   58                      54
Nicaragua         74                42                65                   28                      55
Mexico              70                35                58                   51                      56
Cyprus              80                22                47                   30                      57
Greece              25                47                61                   82                      58
El Salvador        72                 34               72                   46                       59
Belarus             44                 80                57                   52                      60
Venezuela         63                 28                64                   74                      61
Poland              20                 87                54                   43                      62
Kyrgyzstan        49                 83                 26                  70                       63
Serbia               52                 54                71                   73                      64
South Africa       46                74                 60                   75                      65
Ukraine             39                 77                 35                   86                      66
Korea                90                 8                  19                   35                      67
Dominican Republic 79            49                 69                   45                      68
Ghana               81                 67                 33                   49                      69
Turkey              30                 66                  84                   60                      70
Indonesia          83                 65                  59                   20                      71
Paraguay           86                 44                  53                   66                      72
India                 54                 85                  73                   72                      73
Mongolia            38                 89                  56                   85                      74
Guatemala         77                  50                  81                  47                      75
Moldova            53                  71                  43                   89                      76
Nepal               62                   82                  79                  69                      77
Russian            69                   78                 21                    90                     78
Lao                  76                   81                 82                   33                      79
Cambodia         85                   88                 80                   23                      80
Morocco           71                   76                 83                   84                      81
Honduras         88                   48                 74                   78                      82
Montenegro      34                   55                 89                   87                      83
West Bank and Gaza 78            72                 86                   55                      84
Nigeria             87                   84                 70                   76                      85
Malawi              89                  86                 85                   63                      86
Rwanda           82                   90                 90                   38                      87
Jordan             61                   61                 91                   36                      88
Pakistan           84                   69                 67                   91                      89
Tanzania          91                   73                 88                   79                      90
Afghanistan      75                   91                 87                   88                      91
(Guardian)
Source : Afghan Voice Agency (AVA), International Service
https://avapress.com/vdci5vay.t1awp2lict.html
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