요약

All across Asia, the number of people age 65 and above is expected to grow dramatically over the next 50 years. For the region as a whole, the population in this age group will increase by 314 percent—from 207 million in 2000 to 857 million in 2050 (Table 1). Facing an unprecedented pace of population aging, Asian governments must tackle important policy challenges. How best can the needs of the elderly be met? Will current approaches to support the elderly place an undue burden on the younger generation? And are there dangers that programs for the elderly will undermine economic growth? These issues are also being confronted in the West where population aging is more advanced. But the process of population aging is occurring much more rapidly in Asia than it did in Western countries, and it will occur in some Asian countries at a much earlier stage of economic development.