oa ESR Review : Economic and Social Rights in South Africa - The burden of ageing in South Africa : conference paper

Abstract

In 2000, the world's elderly population stood at 600 million. By 2050 the figure is projected to reach two billion - equal, for the first time, to the child population (aged 0 - 14). Currently, persons aged 60 and above make up 10% of the world population, which is unequally distributed between the developed and the developing worlds: older persons constitute about 20% of the developed world's population and 8% of the developing world's (Mirkin and Weinberger, 2001: 41).