India ageing, elderly to make up 20% of population by 2050: UNFPA report

• The India Ageing Report 2023 was released recently by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS).
• The report projects that the number of people aged 60 and above in India will double from 149 million in 2022 to 347 million in 2050.

Key highlights of the report

• The decadal growth rate of the elderly population of India currently estimated to be at 41%.
• With this rate, the percentage of elderly population in the country projected to double to over 20% of total population by 2050.
• By 2046, it is likely that elderly population will have surpassed the population of children (aged 0 to 15 years) in the country.
• The report projected that the population of people aged 80+ years will grow at a rate of around 279% between 2022 and 2050 with a predominance of widowed and highly dependent very old women.
• More than 40% of the elderly in India are in the poorest wealth quintile, with about 18.7% of them living without an income.
• Such levels of poverty may affect their quality of life and healthcare utilisation.
• The data showed that women, on average, had higher life expectancy at the age of 60 and at the 80, when compared to men — with variations across States and Union Territories.
• The sex ratio (females per 1,000 males) among the elderly has been climbing steadily since 1991, with the ratio in the general population stagnating.
• Significant inter-State variation in absolute levels and growth of the elderly population
• Most States in the southern region and some northern States such as Himachal Pradesh and Punjab reported a higher share of the elderly population than the national average in 2021.
• States reporting higher fertility rates and lagging in demographic transition, including Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, expect to see an increase in the share of the elderly population between 2021 and 2036.
• Compared with southern and western India, central and northeastern regions have the younger group of States as indicated by the ageing index.
• Challenges: Poverty is inherently gendered in old age
• The report suggested that poverty in old age is not a uniform or gender-neutral phenomenon.
• Older women are more likely to be widowed, living alone, with no income and with fewer assets of their own, and fully dependent on family for support.
• The report pointed out that the major challenges facing India’s ageing population are the feminisation and ruralisation of this older population.
• The report also highlighted that there is a lack of credible data on various issues related to the elderly in India.

Suggestions

• Called for a special focus on older persons in disaster-preparedness plans
• The government must work on increasing awareness about schemes for older persons,
• This can be done by creating short-term care facilities like creches or day-care facilities.
• The government should encourage the creation and running of elderly self-help groups,
• Ensure that elderly people live in multigenerational households.

Prelims Takeaway

• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).