October 2024
16Oct

US aging population is on a collision course with a fragile healthcare supply chain

As Americans age, the need for a steady, reliable flow of healthcare supplies will only grow Hurricane Helene, which devastated swaths of the southeastern U.S. and caused the deaths of hundreds of people, also uncovered a quieter crisis and preparedness gap that could potentially shake the U.S. healthcare system and affect the lives of millions. One of the country's largest manufacturers of intravenous bags, North Cove, N.C.-based Baxter International (BAX) - which is responsible for 60% of the nation's supply of...

October 16, 2024
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15Oct

From ageing to active living — working through old age in EU

Ausra Linkuviene, a retired typesetting designer from Lithuania, represents a growing trend in Europe, where retirement no longer means the end of a working career. Years after retiring, 67-year-old Austra has continued working. Supported by both her pension and salary, she can travel every year. Admired by her younger colleagues, she sees no reason to leave her profession, she told Xinhua. Her story reflects a larger demographic shift across Europe. By 2050, nearly 30 percent of the European Union (EU) population...

October 15, 2024
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14Oct

Europe’s population crisis could shave 4% off its GDP by 2040, Morgan Stanley warns, and the options to solve it aren’t good

Europe’s demographic challenges are becoming a ticking time bomb for the region’s economy, with Morgan Stanley delivering a grim prediction for its effects on GDP. Morgan Stanley says Europe’s aging population could shave 4% off the Eurozone’s GDP by 2040 as people live longer and birth rates fall. The bank projects a significant loss of GDP based on predictions that Europe’s working-age population will shrink by 6.5% by 2040, due to a reduction in the number of working-age people producing output...

October 14, 2024
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14Oct

Deep Dive: China raises retirement ages as birth rate drops and ageing population grows

Deep Dive delves into hot issues in Hong Kong and mainland China. Our easy-to-read articles provide context to grasp what’s happening, while our questions help you craft informed responses. Check sample answers at the end of the page. News: China raises retirement age as it battles economic slump Country’s top legislative body announced the move as a way to deal with its ageing population of workers More people are set to retire than to enter the workforce, putting China’s pension...

October 14, 2024
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08Oct

Despite medical advances, life expectancy gains are slowing

We’ve seen dramatic increases in life expectancy over the 19th and 20th centuries, thanks to healthier diets, medical advances and many other quality-of-life improvements. But after nearly doubling over the course of the 20th century, the rate of increase has slowed considerably in the last three decades, according to a new study led by the University of Illinois Chicago. Despite frequent breakthroughs in medicine and public health, life expectancy at birth in the world’s longest-living populations has increased only an average...

October 8, 2024
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September 2024
30Sep

Interview: “Focusing on well-being over numbers is solution to low birth rates”

The United Nations Population Division announced in November 2022 that the global population had surpassed 8 billion. This marks a doubling from 4 billion in 1974, a span of just 48 years. The world’s population exceeded 2 billion in 1927 and 1 billion in 1805. Over just 200 years, the global population has increased eightfold. However, the UN forecasts that due to a general slowdown in growth rates, the world population will reach 9 billion by 2037. Population growth has...

September 30, 2024
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27Sep

State pension programs feel the strain of aging populations

In a nutshell Aging populations mean more retirees, pressuring state budgets State-funded pensions are likely to expand into basic-income schemes A rise in productivity is the only cure; but it remains elusive Politicians do not pay much attention to demography. Given their electoral horizons, this is hardly surprising. The so-called demographic crisis and its consequences unfold over decades, while in most countries elections of some sort take place at least every two years. Little heed is paid to whether, in...

September 27, 2024
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25Sep

EU. Who can expect the most healthy life years?

In 2022, the number of healthy life years at birth in the EU was 62.6 years on average, 62.8 years for women and 62.4 years for men. Life expectancy at birth for women in the EU was, on average, 5.4 years longer than that for men (83.3 years compared with 77.9 years). Healthy life years - free from activity limitations - represent 75% and 80% of the total life expectancy for women and men, respectively. Therefore, on average, men tend to spend a greater proportion...

September 25, 2024
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24Sep

China’s retirement age reforms not enough to fix pension headache

China's move to raise retirement ages is a starting point to plug gaping pension deficits and bolster a shrinking workforce but more pain lies ahead as the economy slows, making further reforms urgent, say economists and demographers. Aging populations are a global phenomenon, but the issue is particularly stark in China due to the legacy of its one-child-policy, which was in place for three decades and has exacerbated its demographic challenges. China’s number of births dropped to 9 million last year and the...

September 24, 2024
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24Sep

Korea promotes positive images of older workers amid aging population

As Korea is expected to become a super-aged society next year, with more than 20 percent of the population being 65 years or older, the government is stepping up efforts to promote positive images of older workers. The Ministry of Health and Welfare said on Monday that it will run a weeklong campaign to raise awareness of its efforts to create jobs for older adults and help improve perceptions of those who remain active in the labor market in the...

September 24, 2024
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