Posted By Ina Voelcker at 16:23, 01 October 2012

Population ageing has long been ignored as a development issue.

HelpAge advocates for older people and population ageing to be part of the global development agenda. But one of our major struggles has been the lack of data and evidence to back up anecdotal information received through our work with older people around the world.

In an effort to reduce this gap in evidence and data, HelpAge is launching Global AgeWatch.

Population ageing: a new megatrend that demands more data and analysis 

For a long time, population ageing has been ignored as a development issue. But now more and more people − both within the policy arena and the general public − are finally talking about the huge increase in the older population globally.

As the opportunities that this megatrend in population ageing brings gain traction, there is an increasing need for more data and analysis on population dynamics.

Of course, there are international population statistics from the United Nations Population Division, the World Health Organization and others, but we still don't have a clear picture of older people's poverty compared to younger generations.

Neither do we know how many older people have access to primary healthcare.

Many national data sets do not disaggregate by age beyond 50 or 60, and development targets such as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) exclude the older population.

One of HelpAge's core calls for the post-2015 framework therefore is for more age- and gender-disaggregation of data.

New data and information on population ageing

Global AgeWatch is a platform and knowledge hub which presents data and provides analysis on population dynamics, with a particular focus on population ageing. Global AgeWatch includes:

• Global AgeWatch national report cards with population ageing data from over 190 countries so you can compare the speed of population ageing and current life expectancy figures in different countries. You can also monitor what policies and laws governments are implementing to meet the challenge of population ageing. 
• Core trends relating to population ageing and national population statistics, will show you the increase in countries with high percentages of older people, changing age structures, the huge increase of the "oldest old" and "centenarians". 

All of this is the foundation of the Global AgeWatch Index which will monitor the social and economic situation of older people around the world. Currently there are already country rankings according to life expectancy at age 60 and healthy life expectancy at birth − two core indicators for human development.

Population dynamics in graphics

Global AgeWatch uses graphics to illustrate the current demographic transition.

For example:

• By 2030, there will be more people 60 or over than under 10.
• By 2050, there will be 3.2 million people over 100.
• 64 countries will have a population in which 30% or more of people are 60 or over.

You can view these graphics in the Global AgeWatch homepage carousel.

Life expectancy ranking

The figures on life expectancy for each country are measured in relation to Japan (with the highest life expectancy figures worldwide) and Sierra Leone (with the lowest figures).

Healthy life expectancy at birth varies 46 years between Japan and Sierra Leone. This measurement represents the average number of years that a person can expect to live in "full health" by taking into account the years lived in less than full health due to disease and/or injury.

Even life expectancy at 60, which is a better measure of survival within the adult life course, varies a lot: a 60-year-old in Japan can expect to live 15 years more than a 60-year-old in Sierra Leone.

On the country ageing population data pages you will also see what proportion of the total population in a country is aged 60+ or 80+ and how this is predicted to change up to 2050.

More age- and sex-disaggregated data

As more data becomes available through improved data collection mechanisms, we will collaborate with other key players to further develop Global AgeWatch.

The Global AgeWatch Index, a comprehensive index to measure the social and economic conditions of older people will be launched in 2013.

The data also complements our Ageing in the Twenty-First Century: A Celebration and A Challenge report, launched on International Day of Older People 2012 (1 October). 

Tags for this post ageing population statistics, demographic transition, life expectancy, millennium development goals, population ageing, population data, population dynamics, post 2015, ,