BULGARIA IS FACING A SERIOUS DEMOGRAPHIC CRISIS, UN REPORT
One out of every nine persons in the world is aged 60 or over, the Population Ageing and Development 2009 Report.
In 2009, an estimated 737 million persons were aged 60 years or over and constituted the "older population" of the world, nearly two thirds of whom lived in developing countries, according to Population Ageing and Development 2009 Report. Their number is projected to increase to 2 billion in 2050, by which time older persons will outnumber children (persons aged 0 to 14 years). Today, more than half of the older population lives in Asia (54 per cent) and a fifth lives in Europe (21 per cent).
Today, one out of every nine persons in the world is aged 60 or over. By 2050, the United Nations Population Division projects that one person out of every five will be aged 60 or over. The percentage of older persons is currently higher in developed countries. In Europe, one in every five persons is already aged 60 or over. The equivalent proportions are one in ten in Asia and in Latin America and the Caribbean, and one in 19 in Africa. However, population ageing is advancing faster in developing countries than in developed countries where population ageing is more advanced.
The world has experienced dramatic increases in longevity. Globally, life expectancy at birth has gained more than 20 years since 1950, to reach its current level of 68 years. At current mortality rates, men surviving to age 60 can expect to live another 18 years and women surviving to age 60 can expect an additional 21 years of life. However, life expectancy at age 60 varies significantly across countries. In the least developed countries, men reaching age 60 can expect to live only 15 years more and women 17 years more, whereas in developed countries, life expectancy at age 60 is 20 years for men and 24 years for women.
Bulgaria is facing a serious demographic crisis as it has one of the most ageing populations in the world, the UN report warned. Bulgaria ranked 5th in the world for the oldest median age, with an average age of 41,5 in 2009 and 5th for the percentage of population over the age of 60 - 24,2%.
