Literacy

Low levels of literacy and lack of identity cards and papers directly result in discrimination and make it difficult for older people to access health, pension and legal services.

In China, Uganda and Bolivia, for example, literacy among people aged 60 and over is half that of the total population. Literacy rates for men are generally higher than for women.

Literacy rate by age group

Age discrimination in the workplace

As people age they face increased discrimination and are pushed into more menial and badly paid work. For example, in Latin America many older people collect plastic bottles and cardboard from the streets for recycling and are paid US$0.05 for every kilo of rubbish collected. 

Individuals and institutions discriminate by age because of the misconception that older people are "worthless" and economically inactive.

Older people have shown that they can repay loans on time but they are regularly barred from credit schemes on grounds of age and in humanitarian crises they are excluded from livelihood rehabilitation programmes. The case study, Convincing the bank, illustrates how older people in India overturned this age-discriminatory practice.

Abuse of rights

Older people are entitled to benefit from international commitments to end poverty and to the full realisation of their rights. But millions of older people across the world live in fear and isolation, facing chronic poverty, untreated illness, violence and abuse, and limited access to education and the law.

Abuse of older people can be physical, psychological, emotional, financial and social. It often goes undetected and unreported.

Evidence on the abuse faced by older people is slowly growing. According to the Tanzanian Government, 17,220 women were abused between 1998 and 2001 as a result of witchcraft allegations. 10% of these were killed. Across the nine project districts in Tanzania where HelpAge International works, there have been 444 killings as a result of witchcraft accusations in the last five years. Of these, all except nine were older women.

Read more about the rights of older people.

Who do older people live with?

The proportion of people over 60 living alone is highest in developed countries where over 32% of women and 13% of men live alone. Globally, 20% of all women over 60 live alone compared to 8% of men. HelpAge International consultations show older people want security and financial independence and the choice to live with the family or alone.

This global data masks important differences. In communities severely affected by HIV and AIDS, around 50% of older people care for orphans and vulnerable children. In areas where adults migrate to find work older people are left to bring up dependent grandchildren.

Older women are more likely to take on caring roles than men and are twice as likely to be alone, so they should be getting financial support, healthcare and socio-legal support.

Percentage of people over 60 living alone

Changing role of older people in the family

It is naive to expect poor families and communities to have the resources to care for older people in the absence of support from the state.

While family is still very important poverty, migration, conflict are resulting in the breaking up of extended families and the ability of families to stay in contact with or care for their older people.

The most vulnerable older people are those who have no family or other support network– these people are the ones that die first. In camps for displaced people in Darfur, Sudan, social isolation is a key indicator of vulnerability. Socially isolated older people are less visible to service providers and less likely to have ration cards or access to health services.

Read more about older people affected by the Sudan crisis.

Social networks are critical to poor older people

HelpAge International has seen a rising interest in peer support groups over recent years, for example older people's associations in Cambodia are providing support to older people caring for people living with HIV or AIDS (PLWHA) or orphans and vulnerable children (OVC).

In rural communities consisting mainly of children and older people these groups are critical for survival. With small regular injections of cash they can revitalise the local economy.

An empathy club for people affected by HIV/AIDS in Vietnam provides microcredit loans and training for livelihood activities.

Marriage

Globally 80% of men over 60 are married compared to 48% of women. The proportion of men who are married is higher in less developed countries where 85% of men over 60 are married compared to 39% of women. This is because men tend to die younger, so many women in developing countries are widowed and in some regions, such as South Asia, men are more likely to remarry than women.

Percentage of people over 60 who are married

Voting power

Globally, people over 60 account for 17% of the population eligible to vote. By 2050, over one third of the voting population worldwide will be over 60. Those facing old age will also vote in favour of policies that benefit older people.

In developed countries older people are using this power to improve their access to services, for example, in the USA older people are lobbying Congress to improve their access to healthcare and financial security. Visit www.AARP.org to find out more.

In developing countries particularly at a district level older people are also starting to mobilise. For example, more than 14,000 poor older people in India have demanded better access to state benefits they had not been receiving because of corruption, inefficiency and poor publicity about the availability of schemes. 

Percentage of voting population aged 60 and over