The Ageing Population

Ageing is an inevitability. Growing old is often associated with major life transitions, some of which can be overwhelming (although it’s all part of the process).

How does this affect our society's functions?

• We shall look at the definition of an ageing population and the causes of an ageing population.
• Next, we will look at the impacts of the ageing population on the healthcare system, the economy and on government policies.
• Lastly, we will consider the advantages and challenges of an ageing population.

What is an ageing population?

Growing old is unavoidable for everyone. In fact, there is a specific idea in sociology called disengagement theory which states that "ageing is an inevitable, mutual withdrawal or disengagement, resulting in decreased interaction between the ageing person and others in the social system he belongs to".

Let's start by defining what an ageing population is.

Definition of an ageing population

What, then, does an ageing population mean? This depends on how we define 'old'. The answer to this has not always been straightforward.

Social historian Philippe Aries (1962) pointed out that someone's age in medieval society was not based on chronological years, but on factors such as their strength, abilities, and appearance. This was because there was a lack of official documentation to keep track of one's age.

Neil Postman (1994) argued that the line between children and adults has become blurred today, evidenced by the attempt to give children the same rights as adults, and the law trying to punish minor criminals similarly to adults.

However, age is a more formalised idea today. We can confidently say that anyone who is above 60 or 65 years of age is older than someone who is, for example, 50 years old.

Accordingly, a population ages when there is a shift in its age composition, such that the number of older people increases. When death rates decrease and life expectancy increases, the median age of the population also increases. To put it simply:

Ageing populations in the world

Let's look at ageing populations in the world.

According to the Global Health and Ageing report presented by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the number of people aged 65 or older is projected to grow from an estimated 524 million in 2010 to nearly 1.5 billion in 2050. In addition, by 2050, the number of people 65 years or older is expected to significantly outnumber children under 5.

It seems from these statistics that the world is generally getting older.

The ageing population in the UK

Reflecting the trend in the rest of the world, the UK’s population is also ageing. The percentage of older people in the UK is projected to grow, with people aged 65 and over making up 24 percent of the population by 2043 (17.4 million people).

The proportion of the population aged 75 and over is predicted to rise from 8 percent in 2018 to 13 percent in 2043, while the proportion aged 85 and over is projected to rise from 2 to 4 percent (UK House of Commons Library, 2021).

Causes of an ageing population

There are two core reasons or causes of an ageing population:

1. A declining fertility rate. This is the number of live births in a year per woman, as a proportion of the total female population of childbearing age (15-50 years).
2. An increase in life expectancy (which refers to the average number of years that a person may be expected to live).

In other words, people are having fewer children, and are having them at later ages. They are also living longer.

Fig. 1 - Better healthcare facilities and improving technology has allowed the average life expectancy of people to increase, leading to an ageing population

Ageing is a demographic trend that has important consequences for the state, healthcare, education and, more generally, for the economic growth of a nation.

We'll now look at the impacts of the ageing population on several aspects of society.

Impacts of the ageing population on the healthcare system

What are the impacts of an ageing population, particularly on the healthcare system?

As people grow older, they suffer from newer and more severe health issues. In particular, there will be more chronic diseases. Thus, an ageing population places a crucial burden on a nation's healthcare system.

• Economies will need to allocate more resources to medical care, as older populations require more and better healthcare facilities. This will mean reviewing government policy and financial frameworks.

• The healthcare system will also need to be supplied with skilled and qualified workers who can provide efficient, high-quality care.

• Hospitals and other institutions will have to adopt new technology and better infrastructure.

• The diversity of workers in the healthcare sector will have to be increased to match the diversity of patients.

• More emphasis will have to be placed on providing preventive care, as opposed to reactive care.

Impacts of an ageing population on the economy

Some of the effects of an older population on the economy are as follows:

• The country's workforce will be predominantly older, and the productivity of economies will be dependent on this.

• The workforce will need to be better trained in technology and barriers to work will have to be removed.

• A system wherein education and training are provided at regular intervals, as opposed to just initially, will have to be adopted.

• Workers will require more flexibility in their day-to-day responsibilities.

Impacts of an ageing population on government policies

Government policies will be significantly influenced by ageing populations. The state will require multiple measures to ensure the elderly population is living comfortably and contributing to its maximum potential.

• There will be increased state responsibility to provide suitable housing for older people. The housing will need to be adaptive to accommodate people’s changing needs as they grow older.

• Since there will be an increasing part of the population working from home, the quality of such housing will have to be better.

• The government will have to create new/larger communities for older residents to socialise and access services.

• Government taxation and pension systems will need to be adjusted to ensure there is enough money for elderly people who cannot work.

Advantages and challenges of an ageing population

Having read the above, let's consider the advantages and challenges of an ageing population.

Rising proportions of older people can significantly change the makeup of a nation. This has different outcomes, both advantageous and disadvantageous.

Fig. 2 - One of the benefits of an ageing population is the ability to spend more time with family, especially grandchildren.

Challenges of an ageing population

Medical science has advanced enough to increase the life expectancy of people; this is a significant achievement. However, a predominantly older population brings about multiple challenges.

Government's increased spending on elderly people

Growing numbers of elderly people will mean that the government will have to spend more on multiple things: healthcare, social care, state pension, education, and training.

Less revenue due to decline in working population

Since older people are less likely to be able to work, an ageing population will result in a decline in the working population compared to the number of pensioners. This will lead to less revenue in the economy and a rising dependency ratio.

Increased taxation by the government

To deal with the two-fold pressure of increased spending and less revenue, governments are likely to impose more and higher taxes to meet the social welfare needs of an older population.

Pressure on the healthcare system due to disease

As previously discussed, an increase in the amount of older people is likely to overburden the healthcare system with chronic diseases. There is also likely to be a lack of adequate resources for long-term healthcare facilities.

Gaps in the job market due to technological changes

It is highly possible that, without the requisite knowledge and technology, elderly populations will not be able to keep up with the requirements of the job market. At the same time, low fertility rates will mean that there are fewer young people in the workplace. This will create gaps in the job market.