Sweden best country to grow old in, Afghanistan the worst

Sweden is the best country to grow old in and Afghanistan the worst, according to a UN backed study that was published on Tuesday.

The GlobalAge Watch Index 2013 – the first of its kind- shows that Sweden has the best policies in the key areas of income security, health status, enabling environment, employment and education for people over 60 years of age.

The global ranking shows older people fair best in Nordic countries, western European, North American and some South East Asian and Latin American countries, with Norway coming second and Germany third.

It further highlights that older people fair less well in many African and East Asian countries as well as in Jordan (88), Pakistan (89) and Afghanistan (91).

The index was compiled by the HelpAge International advocacy group and the UN Population Fund in a bid to provide much-needed data on ageing populations worldwide.

The index further highlights huge data gaps as it relied on data collected from individual countries. Of all the countries in the world, only 91 had enough data on old people to contribute to the index. Six African countries contributed to the index, they included South Africa (65), Ghana (69), Nigeria (85), Malawi (86), Rwanda (87) and Tanzania (90) which ranked lowest in Africa and second last in the World.

"The 21st century is seeing an unprecedented global demographic transition, with population ageing at its heart," the authors of the study said.

In 2012 the elderly made up 11 percent of the world’s population. By 2030 they will make up 16 percent and by 2050 they are projected to make up 22 percent of the total global population.

The UN backed study showed that action in the key areas of Income Security and Health is essential to ensure the well-being of the elderly in the population.

The report praised lower income countries that regardless of their level of wealth have invested in policies with positive impacts on ageing.

Praise for Sri Lanka, Bolivia

Sri Lanka which ranked 36 has long term investments in education and health which have contributed to the well-being of the elderly while Bolivia, which is one of the world’s poorest countries, has a National Plan for ageing and a non-contributory universal pension.

The index also shows that people in countries with a record of enacting progressive social welfare policies are “more likely to reap the benefits in terms of better health and wellbeing and a sense of social connectedness in old age.”

HelpAge's chief executive Silvia Stefanoni said a lack of urgency in the debate about older people's wellbeing "is one of the biggest obstacles to meeting the needs of the world's ageing population".

"By giving us a better understanding of the quality of life of women and men as they age, this new index can help us focus our attention on where things are going well and where we have to make improvements," she said in a statement.

The study also noted that some of the top-ranking countries had introduced successful policies to care for the elderly at a time when they were still emerging economies.

Sweden for instance put in place its universal pension system a century ago, while Norway introduced its system in1937, it said.

"Limited resources need not be a barrier to countries providing for their older citizens," the report said.

On a positive note, the survey found that some countries and regions that were ageing the fastest were already preparing for the democratic shift.

Latin American countries, which face a doubling of their elderly populations by 2050, are well represented among the top30, the index showed, with Chile and Uruguay in 19thand 23rd place.

But some eastern European countries still have much work to do, it showed, with Moldova ranking 76th and Montenegro at 83rd place.