Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 21, 1993 TAG: 9304210050
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Cox News Service
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short
A study by demographers at the U.S. Census Bureau concludes that largely because of improved living conditions - such as better nutrition and control of some diseases - people are living longer.
That means that the global population aged 65 and older was about 342 million in 1992, or 6.2 percent of the world's total population.
Meanwhile, an international crop of baby boomers now is in middle age and will pass into the ranks of the elderly shortly after the turn of the century.
By 2010, the worldwide growth of elderly population will be approximately 1.1 million a month, said Cynthia Taeuber, a Census Bureau demographer and co-author of a report on the population changes.
But the most stunning trend is the coming growth of the oldest old, those 80 and over, said Taeuber. By 2025, one-third of the elderly population of Japan will be 80 and over, and more than 1.5 million people in France will be in this "oldest old" group.
In the United States, the number of persons over 80 was 374,000 in 1900 and more than 7 million in 1990. By 2030, it is expected to more than double.
The report, a compilation of census data and national trend reports from 50 nations, concludes:
The world's elderly population is increasing by 800,000 persons per month.
The fastest growth is in developing countries, which account for 62 percent of the global increase each month.
by CNB