Introduction

One of the most significant phenomena of the 20th century has been population ageing – it is estimated that the world's elderly population is increasing monthly, by about 1 million. According to United Nations (UN) estimates, in 1950, throughout the world, there were more than 205 million people aged 60 and over, constituting 8.1 per cent of the world's total population. Fifty-seven years later, in 2007, this figure rose to almost 705 million. By 2025, these figures are projected to rise to almost 1.2 billion, an increase of 69 per cent over the 2007 figures. It is alarming to realise that 13 years hence, older people will constitute more than 15 per cent of the world's population, to further rise to 21.8 per cent by the middle of the 21st century (see Table 2.1).

Socioeconomic consequences

Population ageing poses unique challenges to every society. The significant increase in life expectancy unavoidably implies not only a heightened demand for existing support services, but also for new services and alternative approaches to the care of older people. Although older people have many needs that they share with the rest of the population, they have some that are specialised and age-oriented. Consequently, new approaches to medical care and the delivery of social and economic services are needed.

The issue becomes more complex when one considers the fact that the traditional role of the family in the care and support of older family members, especially those who are frail, is being subjected to various economic, social and psychological strains and is being seriously threatened. Consequently, the family alone can no longer meet the needs of frail older people, without the support of specialised programmes and services sponsored by governments.

Moreover, issues related to ageing are multidisciplinary in nature, covering such sectors as healthcare, education and cultural activities, housing and the environment, social assistance and family protection, recreation and rehabilitation, and pensions and invalidity insurance. All these issues are highly interdependent – the health and happiness of older people is dependent on social, emotional and psychological factors. In fact, the World Health Organization (WHO) has defined good health as not merely the absence of disease and infirmity, but also the physical, mental and social wellbeing of the individual.