Report on Characteristics and Consequences of an Ageing Population
INTRODUCTION
An ageing population is a population that, for a number of reasons, is collectively and gradually growing older. The main reasons for this are falling birth rates while death rates remain static. An ageing population can, however, have severe consequences for a country, which will be described below.
In this report, the characteristics and consequences of an ageing population will be described using specific case studies on a world, and regional scale. Areas where population is ageing will be shown and reasons why the population is ageing in these areas will be outlined.
What are the Characteristics of an Ageing Population?
An ageing population is a population that is growing older. I other words more people are growing old (old is defined as anyone over 65 years of age), then babies are being born, resulting in a net increase of the average age of a person living in that country. Therefore generally countries with an ageing population have a low death rate (and consequently a high life expectancy) and a similarly low (sometimes even lower) birth rate, which results in the area/country/region having an extremely low natural increase, with, in some more extreme cases a natural decrease.
In other words an ageing population can be described by a simple formula: -
Fewer babies born + People living for longer = a higher percentage of elderly people.
Where has it Occurred and Why
Generally, the MEDC's of he western world tend to be prone to ageing populations whereas as the LEDC's of Africa and parts of Asia are the opposite, with these have an increasingly young populations.
These trends can be explained accurately using the Demographic transition model. The areas where there is an ageing population such as Europe, the USA, Japan and Russia for example, are all in stage 4 of the Demographic transition model, where are low death rates, and therefore a high life expectancy, but also low birth rates which are sometimes even lower than death rates, with this resulting in an ageing population, which is described under the previous heading.
Conversely, the areas with young population (Africa and parts of Asia etc) are all either in stage 1 or stage 2, in some cases early stage 3 of the Demographic transition model where there are fallen death rates and consistently high birth rate with this resulting in an increasingly young population.
Ageing Population- International Case Studies
The UK - The population of the UK is in the process of ageing. This is due to, as mentioned above, the low death rate and consequent high life expectancy of the UK and low, decreasing birth. This results in the population pyramid of the UK being fairly top and middle heavy, with the base of the pyramid (where the youth population is shown) not being nearly as wide as the middle, and only marginally wider than the top, older areas, with this indicating that the population of the UK is in the process of ageing. This again shows that the UK is in stage 4, possibly even stage 5 of the Demographic Transition model, where there are low death rates but also low sometimes lower birth rates. These low death rates are due to:-
INTRODUCTION
An ageing population is a population that, for a number of reasons, is collectively and gradually growing older. The main reasons for this are falling birth rates while death rates remain static. An ageing population can, however, have severe consequences for a country, which will be described below.
In this report, the characteristics and consequences of an ageing population will be described using specific case studies on a world, and regional scale. Areas where population is ageing will be shown and reasons why the population is ageing in these areas will be outlined.
What are the Characteristics of an Ageing Population?
An ageing population is a population that is growing older. I other words more people are growing old (old is defined as anyone over 65 years of age), then babies are being born, resulting in a net increase of the average age of a person living in that country. Therefore generally countries with an ageing population have a low death rate (and consequently a high life expectancy) and a similarly low (sometimes even lower) birth rate, which results in the area/country/region having an extremely low natural increase, with, in some more extreme cases a natural decrease.
In other words an ageing population can be described by a simple formula: -
Fewer babies born + People living for longer = a higher percentage of elderly people.
Where has it Occurred and Why
Generally, the MEDC's of he western world tend to be prone to ageing populations whereas as the LEDC's of Africa and parts of Asia are the opposite, with these have an increasingly young populations.
These trends can be explained accurately using the Demographic transition model. The areas where there is an ageing population such as Europe, the USA, Japan and Russia for example, are all in stage 4 of the Demographic transition model, where are low death rates, and therefore a high life expectancy, but also low birth rates which are sometimes even lower than death rates, with this resulting in an ageing population, which is described under the previous heading.
Conversely, the areas with young population (Africa and parts of Asia etc) are all either in stage 1 or stage 2, in some cases early stage 3 of the Demographic transition model where there are fallen death rates and consistently high birth rate with this resulting in an increasingly young population.
Ageing Population- International Case Studies
The UK - The population of the UK is in the process of ageing. This is due to, as mentioned above, the low death rate and consequent high life expectancy of the UK and low, decreasing birth. This results in the population pyramid of the UK being fairly top and middle heavy, with the base of the pyramid (where the youth population is shown) not being nearly as wide as the middle, and only marginally wider than the top, older areas, with this indicating that the population of the UK is in the process of ageing. This again shows that the UK is in stage 4, possibly even stage 5 of the Demographic Transition model, where there are low death rates but also low sometimes lower birth rates. These low death rates are due to:-
