Best And Worst Places For Old Age

Here's something about growing old, or rather growing old in the right place. It matters as much where you live if you are an oldie as it does where you live as an infant. Both situations are more fragile than the other age categories. Today, there are almost 900 million people who are at least 60 years old globally, or about 12% of the world's population. By 2050 statisticians say that more than 2 billion people will be 60 years of age or older. That's 21% of the projected world population. In the United States, 27% of all Americans will be at least 60 years old. Hmmmmm I better get me some of those Depends adult diapers before they sell out!

Anyway, 'Help Age International' (an agency that keeps track of heath of people world-wide) has released it's "Global Age Watch 2014 Index". It ranks the social and economic well being of older residents in 96 countries. The report rated each country on four broad factors important to an aging population: supporting income security, fostering good health, employment and education, and the overall environment for older residents. Norway was rated as the best country for older people to live in,  with the other Scandinavian countries right behind. They all have big, no cost to user, social welfare programs that include for oldies.  The United States was 8th of 96 countries on the list, strangely with medical care accounting for both a high rating (U.S. medicine is rated the world's best) and low rating (because it is also the world's most expensive to users).

Now for where you don't want to live during old age. Afghanistan was rated the worst country for older people for the second consecutive year. The other bottom ten mostly  were African and Midwestern nations that were very poor and war torn. Being a wealthy nation  or free from economic poverty or war issues  is not enough for a country to rate well on that index.  For example, the ability of older people to continue working and ensuring that they do not feel socially isolated, are examples of important factors that are included in the ratings.

It appears to me that the affluence of a nation is the best guarantee of a higher rating, but then we don't need a survey to tell us the obvious.