People are living longer than ever before. But is the world ready? Two people celebrate their 60th birthday every second across the globe. That’s 58 million 60th birthdays per year. By 2050, 1 in 6 people will be 60+, that is nearly 2.1 billion people. Life expectancy is longer than ever before. Thanks to advancements in technology, our way of living has advanced. We can access more information at a faster rate than ever before. With this shift in the population and advancement in technology, we must prepare to support this aging population.
Many find the world’s longevity to be a miraculous achievement. But is it? Think about how much technology has advanced in just the past 20 years? With improved nutrition, medical advances, health care, education, and economic well-being, people can live longer and have a better quality of life. Our individual and environmental situations impact how we age. One’s behaviors, genetics, diseases, and physical issues caused by aging all affect our longevity. Our environment, such as housing, social interactions, the technologies we can afford, and how we access transportation should also be factored into how people age.
While aging is currently progressing the fastest in developing countries, it is happening globally at different levels of development. Life expectancy at birth is over 80 now in 33 countries, and just 5-years earlier it was only 19 countries. Between 2000 and 2019, life expectancy has increased by 6 years. Currently, Japan has the oldest population of more than 30 %, but by 2050 64 other countries will join them in having an older population of above 30 %.
Here is how our life expectancy has changed since the 1950s. And while there are many factors to take in, the world’s lowest life expectancy was during the 1950s. During this time, the average life was only 36 years old. Surprisingly, during this same time, Norway’s life expectancy was at 72, but the life expectancy in Mali was only 26. In the below figure, you can see the development of life expectancy.
An aging population presents social, economic, and cultural challenges. These challenges affect the individual, their family, society, and the global community. Recently the WHO collected data from 37 countries, and only 14 % could meet their basic needs. There are roughly 142 million older adults who can’t meet their basic needs. In their current environments, these individuals struggle to dress, get/take their medications, or manage their money, bills, and other finances.
So how can we prepare for the social and economic shift?
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While we at Raisoft continue to play a small part in supporting the aging population through the digitalization of health assessments and other various tools, we can provide the right kind of care, at the right time, to the right aging person. We believe it is crucial to treat everybody as an individual. Each person has their own set of strengths and weaknesses. It's our job to bring those to the forefront, so we can give them the care and support they need.