Population and Demography

In recent decades, all regions of the world have seen substantial progress in life expectancy at birth, which was estimated to be at 72.8 years in 2019 compared with 64.2 years three decades ago. As importantly, life expectancy has increased at all ages such that a person at age 65 in 2019 was likely to live 6.2 years longer than in the early 1950s (United Nations, 2022). But life expectancy differs significantly across countries and within them. Inequalities in health and in life expectancy across countries have received attention from the international community, which recognized that such inequalities are unfair and beyond an individual’s control. Assessing country-level inequality in life expectancy is therefore useful to examine whether outcomes in countries with high increases in life expectancy differ by their social and health policies. For instance, reducing inequality in life expectancy across countries points to the role that health policies play in controlling a wide range of diseases responsible for disparities in child and maternal mortality.

Populations in the UNECE region are ageing rapidly. To maintain economic growth and standard of living, people would need to work longer before they can retire. Regarding people who are currently in their working age, demographic change may require to include those into the labour market who were previously not fully integrated, such as early school leavers, women and migrants. In a knowledge society, this all requires a good standard of basic education as well as vocational training, tertiary education, information and communication technology (ICT) and language skills.

In many UNECE countries the average actual retirement age is below the statutory retirement age, which means that the labour market is losing a great deal of resources in terms of experience and labour capacity of older workers. Ageing societies, however, cannot afford to lose the highly valuable resource of older workers. If there are people aged 55 years or older who want to work, but cannot due to unfavourable conditions in the labour market, UNECE member States may wish to address this issue.

Ageism is the stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination against people based on their age. Many older workers face ageism when looking for new jobs, training opportunities and career development or are pushed to leave into early retirement in times of economic recession. Ageism in the labour market is costly to businesses who do not make the most of their ageing workforce. At the individual level, ageism has been shown to negatively affect health and well-being. The complexity and intersectionality of the phenomenon needs to be addressed now. Deeply rooted stereotypes, prejudices and discriminatory practices take time to change. Combating ageism in the world of work requires removing ageist provisions in the legal and regulatory framework, addressing prejudice and negative stereotypes about older workers and encouraging age-inclusive and age-diverse workplaces that offer equal opportunities for all generations.

Population ageing has important and far-reaching implications across all spheres of society. Ageing-related issues therefore need to be integrated into all policy fields in order to bring societies and economies in harmony with demographic change. This policy brief looks at how Governments can do this and provides selected examples. It also addresses the ways in which all age groups can be equally involved in designing, implementing and evaluating ageing-related policies and programmes.

Education is a key determinant of levels and trends of fertility, mortality and migration. In turn, coverage and investment in education are influenced by the rate of growth and the age structure of the population. Education and training over the life course are critically important to sustain socioeconomic development, especially in modern economies increasingly driven by innovation and productivity growth. From a macroeconomic perspective, a well-trained and well-educated workforce reinforces the positive impacts of the demographic dividend and tempers the fiscal and economic challenges associated with rapidly ageing populations, while contributing to the achievement of various Sustainable Development Goals and to the realization of the Vision Statement of the Secretary-General on Transforming Education. This policy brief summarizes some policy implications in these and other interlinkages between population, education, and sustainable development.

This policy brief presents determinants and risk factors of poor mental health among older persons and provides a detailed overview of the prevalence of mental health disorders among older persons of different socio-demographic characteristics across the region. The policy brief highlights different policy strategies to promote, protect and care for the mental health of older persons, with examples contributed by Governments and civil society organizations across the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) region. The policy brief also offers a checklist of effective measures to promote and protect the mental health of older persons covered in this brief.

At any age, intersecting factors such as poverty, disability, social isolation and exposure to abuse can increase the risk of vulnerability and weaken resilience in the case of adverse events. The COVID-19 pandemic, rising inflation, natural disasters, and war are examples of adverse events that have disproportionately affected vulnerable persons, including many older persons. Often, the capacities and vulnerabilities of older persons remain invisible as their voices are less heard and their needs less known due to a lack of data and research, and their insufficient involvement in decision-making. A key challenge, therefore, is to inform, design and implement comprehensive policies that protect vulnerable older persons from adverse outcomes, enhance resilience and allow them to fulfil their full potential in later life. The policy strategies presented in this Policy Brief cover the areas of income and housing, health and long-term care, prevention of violence, abuse and neglect, and social participation as well as the importance of adequate data and research and the involvement of older persons in decision-making.

Population ageing is a global phenomenon, a shift towards an increasing share of older persons in the population. Even the least developed countries (LDCs) are beginning to experience the progressive ageing of their populations, and this process is expected to accelerate during the second half of the current century (United Nations, 2023). Despite its far-reaching consequences, the emergence of this trend in LDCs has attracted only limited attention from both national policymakers and the international community. Most LDCs are still early in the decades-long process of population ageing, which is a direct consequence of the demographic transition towards longer lives and smaller families. Population ageing begins with a slowdown in the growth of the younger population but eventually involves the rapid growth of the older population. Early in this process, countries have an opportunity to benefit from the demographic dividend – a faster rate of economic growth on a per capita basis due to an increasing share of the working age population (and thus a falling dependency ratio) caused by a sustained decline in the fertility level. Although temporary, this opportunity often lasts for several decades. It comes to an end once the older population begins to grow more rapidly, leading to a rising old-age dependency ratio. Preparing for population ageing in LDCs will be critical for achieving sustainable development and ensuring that no one is left behind. Maximizing the benefits from the demographic dividend will provide an opportunity for these countries to develop economically before their populations become much older. It is also consistent with a pledge of “working together to support the acceleration of the demographic transition, where relevant”, as agreed in the Doha Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2022–2031 (United Nations, 2022).

This policy brief focuses on the challenges of an ageing workforce and available policy strategies to unlock its full potential. It presents policy examples from the UNECE region aimed at readying the workforce for the future, retaining older workers in the workforce and re-engaging older workers beyond normal retirement age. Finally, the policy brief also offers a checklist of effective measures to address the challenges of an ageing workforce.