Introduction

GONZALEZ, CARIN; GHOSH, SUBHARATI; SACCO, NICOLÁS

Aging in the Global South: Challenges and Opportunities

Lexington Books

Lugar: Lanham, MD; Año: 2018; p. 1 - 1

2000 the World Health Organization projected that people over the age 60 are going to increase to from 605 million in 2000 to 2 billion by 2050. This acceleration in the growth of population aged 60, and above will be particularly evident in developing countries, such as China, India, and Brazil. The rapidly shifting demographic patterns have been attributed primarily to demographic transitions, brought on by low fertility rates and death rates. Countries such as the USA and several in Western Europe (collectively referred to a Global North) now have high old age dependency ratio, a trend also becoming visible in countries of the Global South.Aging is the ultimate consequence of the historical process of the demographic transition that is transforming the social and economic landscape, especially in countries of Western Europe and the USA, who are the forerunners of demographic shifts. Countries in the Global South have slowly and steadily started showing similar patterns in population transition, but there is much to know and understand how the countries would fare in the decades to come. It is also important to compare and contrast the experiences of countries like USA and Western Europe, to understand the intricate relationship between development and population aging and how it would similarly or differentially pan out in various social, economic and political domains.