Older Person Count Will Double To 20.8% At 347 Million By 2050: Report

The eagerly awaited "India Ageing Report 2023" was released on Wednesday by UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) India and the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS). Ms. Andrea M. Wojnar, UNFPA India Representative, and Mr. Saurabh Garg, Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (Government of India), jointly launched the study.

As per the report, globally, there are 1.1 billion persons aged 60 years or above in 2022, comprising 13.9 percent of the total population of 7.9 billion. "Over the next three decades, the number of older persons worldwide is expected to double to 2.1 billion by 2050, with the share rising to 22 percent of the total population. This increase in the number and share of older persons will be visible across all regions of the world. In more developed regions, the share of older persons will increase from 26 percent in 2022 to 34 percent in 2050, while in less developed regions, it will increase from 11.5 percent to 20 percent during the corresponding period," the report said.

Asia is home to 649 million people who are 60 years of age or older, or nearly 58 percent of the world's elderly population. By 2050, there will be 1.3 billion older people living in Asia, making up 25 percent of the continent's population, more than doubling their current percentage of the population (13.7%) and overall numbers.

"India is not an exception to this phenomenon. There are 149 million persons aged 60 years and above in 2022 (as of 1 July), comprising around 10.5 percent of the country's population. By 2050, the share of older persons will double to 20.8 percent, with the absolute number at 347 million," the report reads.

"The percentage of the elderly in India has been increasing swiftly in recent years, and the trend is likely to continue in the coming decades. The share of population over the age of 60 years is projected to increase from 10.5 percent in 2022 to 20.8 percent in 2050. By the end of the century, the elderly will constitute over 36 percent of the total population of the country," the report stated.

"the population size of the elderly in India will be higher than the population size of children aged 0-14 years (Figure 2.3). By that time, the population share of 15-59 years will also see a dip. Undoubtedly, the relatively young India today will turn into a rapidly ageing society in the coming decades," it said.

Over two-fifths of the aged population in India, with percentages ranging from 4.2 percent in Jammu and Kashmir and 5 percent in Punjab to 40.2 percent in Lakshadweep and 47 percent in Chhattisgarh, fall into the poorest wealth quintile. 18.7% of the elderly. 18.7% of the elderly, according to further analysis, pension, and income study, did not have any income. In 17 states, this percentage was higher than the national average; it varied from 19.3 percent in Uttarakhand to 42.4 percent in Lakshadweep.

"Consequently, there are considerable variations in the age structure of the population, including the ageing experience. Most of the states in the southern region and select northern states such as Himachal Pradesh and Punjab reported a higher share of the elderly population than the national average in 2021, a gap that is expected to widen by 2036. While states reporting higher fertility rates and lagging in demographic transition, such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, expect to see an increase in the share of the elderly population between 2021 and 2036, the level will remain lower than the Indian average," it said.

A total of Rs 1259.6 billion was used for CSR projects between 2014 and 2021. From this, Rs 365.6 billion (29%) went to the education sector, Rs 251.3 billion (20%) to the healthcare sector, Rs 122.6 billion (9.7%) to rural development, and Rs 77.6 billion (6.2%) to the environment and related fields, according to the report.

"Since 2014, CSR spending on senior citizens' welfare (SCW) has remained less than 0.3 percent of total spends despite a 516 percent growth, from Rs 89 million to Rs 551 million, in the last seven years," the report stated.