Ageing PopulationsWhen the median age of a countries population rises and there is a rise in

the proportion of a countries population that is over 65 years old.

DataMedian age of all countries is

due to rise from 29 now to 38 by 2050

At present just under 11% of the worlds 6.9 billion people are over 60; by that share will rise to 22% (of 9 billion)

By 2050 33% of populations in developed countries will be over 60

Every one of the 2 billion people who will be over 60 by 2050 has already been

bornIn France it took 100 years for the % of the population over 65 to double from 7% to 14%; in China a similar change is predicted to take less than 25 years.

By 2040, the number of people over 64 in Britain is expected to grow from 9.5 million to 15 million.

When pensions were introduced in the early 1900s there were 22 people of working age in Britain for every retired person. In 2024 there will be less than three.

Over the last two decades, consumption by Europe's over 50s has risen three times as fast as that of the rest of the population.

Case Studies

Ageing Populations - UK

Youthful to Ageing - China

Thinking about ageing

Debono’s 6 Hats• Questions (White) - considering purely what

information is available, what are the facts? • Emotions (Red) - instinctive gut reaction or

statements of emotional feeling (but not any justification)

• Bad points judgement (Black) - logic applied to identifying flaws or barriers, seeking mismatch

• Good points (Yellow) - logic applied to identifying benefits, seeking harmony

• Creativity (Green) - statements of provocation and investigation, seeing where a thought goes

• Thinking (Blue) - thinking about thinking

Task• You will be allocated a thinking hat• You should read the articles and consider the

information relevant to your thinking hat.• We will then hold a discussion on the “ageing

population” issue; we will aim to identify and agree upon strategies that the UK should take to manage its ageing population.

• We will go in this order; blue, white, red, yellow, black, green.

• After the discussion you will need to write-up your case study notes.

Ageing Population Write Up

• What evidence is there that the population in the UK is ageing?

• What are the reasons for this ageing?• What are the positive opportunities provided by an

ageing populations?• What are the challenges and issues associated

with an ageing population?• What strategies has the UK implemented in

response to the ageing issue?• How effective will these strategies be and what

additional options might the UK consider?