On December 14, 1990, the United Nations General Assembly designated October 1 as the International Day of Older Persons in its resolution 45/106. This announcement followed the Initiative of the International Action Plan, adopted by the General Assembly in its resolution 51/37 on December 3, 1982.
In 1991, the General Assembly adopted the United Nations Principles for Older Persons under its resolution 91/46. In 2003, the General Assembly adopted the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing to respond to the opportunities and challenges posed by an aging population in the 21st century, as well as to promote social development for all age groups.
The demographic composition of the world has changed significantly in recent decades. Between 1950 and 2010, global life expectancy rose from 46 to 68 years. Globally, there were 703 million people aged 65 and older in 2019. East and Southeast Asia had the largest number of older persons (261 million), followed by Europe and North America (more than 200 million).
Over the next three decades, the number of older persons worldwide is expected to double to over 1.5 billion by 2050. All regions will witness an increase in their elderly populations between 2019 and 2050. The largest increase (312 million) will occur in East and Southeast Asia, rising from 261 million in 2019 to 573 million in 2050. North Africa and Western Asia are projected to experience the fastest growth in the number of older persons, increasing from 29 million in 2019 to 96 million in 2050 (an increase of 226%). Sub-Saharan Africa is also expected to see significant growth, with the population aged 65 and older rising from 32 million in 2019 to 101 million by 2050 (218%). In contrast, relatively modest increases are expected in Australia and New Zealand (84%) and in Europe and North America (48%), regions where populations are already significantly older than in other parts of the world.
Among developmental groups, least developed countries, excluding the least developed countries, will be home to more than two-thirds of the world’s older population (1.1 billion) by 2050. However, the fastest growth is anticipated in the least developed countries, where the number of people aged 65 and older could rise from 37 million in 2019 to 120 million by 2050 (225%).
**Facts and Figures**
By 2020, the number of individuals aged 60 and older surpassed the number of children under the age of 5.
Over the next three decades, the global population of older persons is expected to double to more than 1.5 billion by 2050, with 80% residing in low- and middle-income countries.
Data based on a survey of 83,034 individuals across 57 countries indicates that one in two people have moderate to high attitudes towards aging.
