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Asia -=20 Home to Half the World Population - Is = Graying
By Gabrielle = Brick=20 Hong Kong 11 July 2006

World Population Day poster=20

As the United Nations observes World Population Day, most = Asian=20 countries are grappling with an aging society.

Asia is home to the planet's two most populous = countries -=20 China and India - and more than half the world's six and a = half=20 billion people.

And statistics show the Asian=20 population is aging - presenting challenges on how a = smaller,=20 younger generation will care for a much larger, older=20 generation.

The United Nations projects the number of Asians aged 65 = and=20 older will increase more than 300 percent between the years = 2000 and=20 2050 - from 207 million to 857 million.

Population expert Andrew Mason, at the University of = Hawaii, says=20 how governments prepare now will directly affect the quality = of life=20 for young and old in a few decades.

"We consistently underestimate the pace of aging. I think = the=20 changes in age structure will be greater, aging will be = faster that=20 what people anticipate, and so we better develop ways to = deal with=20 it, and we'd better hurry," Mason says.

Japan, South Korea, and Singapore are already dealing = with a=20 larger proportion of elderly in relation to the 15-to-64 = year-old=20 working-age group. But most Asian countries will experience = the=20 shift in age structure in 15 to 20 years.

The U.N. Population Fund is working with regional = governments to=20 begin preparing now. One of the main challenges is=20 poverty. Many Asian nations are simply too poor to = fund=20 large-scale public pensions and health care programs.

Garimella Giridhar is an Asia expert with the U.N. = Population=20 Fund in Bangkok.

"In these countries that I am talking about - in = Indonesia, in=20 Vietnam - the government services are quite inadequate. And = if=20 people begin to depend on those non-existing services, that = will be=20 a major problem," Giridhar says.

Some governments in less developed countries are, = instead,=20 looking to build on the Asian tradition of families caring = for=20 elderly parents. For example, Malaysia gives priority = housing to=20 adults who have parents living with them. Both the = Philippines and=20 Malaysia offer tax breaks for relatives caring for elderly = family=20 members.

But the tradition is not enduring in all parts of Asia. = Ideas=20 about familial obligations seem to be changing with rising=20 affluence. Hong Kong resident Albert Leung says he plans to = have=20 enough savings when he retires and he does not expect his = children=20 to support him.

"For our case, I always say we won't be relying on them. = People=20 in Hong Kong [are] still on a more traditional Chinese way = of=20 thinking that they hope their children will care for them," = Leung=20 says. "But I suppose this is changing now."

The challenges that come with the graying of Asia are, in = many=20 cases, a direct result of successful programs in recent = decades to=20 reduce the population. In major countries in Asia, the birth = rate=20 has been going down for the last 50 years. Between 1960 and = 1990,=20 Thailand and China dramatically reduced their birth rates = from an=20 average of more than four children per woman to around two. =

That means there are less young people to enter the work = force=20 and pay taxes to support retirees.

So the U.N. Population Fund says the focus is shifting = from=20 traditional welfare-type pension programs to helping older = people=20 remain vital longer.

Demographer Mason, of the University of Hawaii, says one = way to=20 do this is to raise the retirement age.

"Retirement is also surprisingly young, so 58, 59, 60 = seem to be=20 the ages at which people seem to be withdrawing from the = labor=20 force, and earning less than they are consuming," Mason = added.

Another issue is how to make sure the older generation is = not=20 only allowed to work longer, but is attractive to employers. = Malaysia provides job retraining and job placement. The = Philippines=20 and Singapore offer employers of older people incentives in = the form=20 of tax deductions.

Experts seem to agree that finding creative solutions is = key to=20 balancing population changes and needs.

The task is so immense, the U.N. says, that the = responsibility of=20 caring for the elderly must be shared among individuals, = families,=20 communities, non-governmental organizations, and = governments.=20

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