October 1 is the International Day of Older Persons. Population aging has become a prominent social problem in the world today. December 14, 1990, the United Nations [microblogging] the General Assembly adopted a resolution, decided to start in 1991, the annual October 1 as the "International Day of Older Persons."

So now what is the status of global aging? What is the impact on human life? How will the international community respond? Xinhua International made an inventory of these issues.

The aging of the population

As the average inhabitant can live well over 80 years of age, Japan is known as the paradise of the elderly in this world.

According to the 1956 United Nations "population aging and its socio-economic consequences" to determine the classification criteria, when a country or area 65 years old and older population accounts for more than 7% of the total population, it means that the country or region into aging . The 1982 Vienna World Assembly on Aging identified over 10 per cent of the population aged 60 years and over as a proportion of the total population, implying that the country or region is aging.

The origin of the aging problem

From a global perspective, the late 19th century, the European fertility rate in some developed countries, the first to enter a period of continuous decline, the phenomenon of aging began in some countries.

A nursing home in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, volunteers for elderly people with Alzheimer's disease.

In 1851, the French population aged 60 and above reached 10.1%, becoming the world's first aging country. Since then, Sweden, Norway, Britain and a number of European countries into aging.

Since the 1970s, aging gradually spread to Asia and the Americas, has now become a global phenomenon. Into the 21st century, the global aging rate.

The decline in the fertility rate and the increase in the average life expectancy are the main reasons for the aging of the population. In the least developed countries, the mean total fertility rate fell from 6.44 in 1950-1955 to 4.41 in 2005-2010, while the average life expectancy rose from 37.2 to 56.9 in the same period.

The aging of the population has a profound effect on all aspects of human life. In the economic sphere, population aging affects economic growth, savings, consumption and investment, the labor market, taxes, and resource allocations across generations. At the social level, population aging affects health and medical care, family composition, living arrangements, housing and population movements.

Global Aging Situation

September 9 this year, the global work in the field of aging has an important impact on the international non-governmental organizations - the International Society for the elderly will be released called the "2015 Global Survey of aging undertakings," the report.

Luoyang City, Henan Province, China Sui and Tang Dynasty City Ruins Park, an old man holding a child in the rest, flowers.

The report said that the global population aged 60 and over about 901 million, accounting for 12.3% of the world population. By 2030 this proportion will reach 16.5%. Globally, the number of people over the age of 60 is now more than the number of children under the age of 5, by 2050, 60 years of age population will exceed 15 years of age population. The report said China is the world's oldest population of the country, there are 209 million.

According to the United Nations Demographic Report, China, India, and the United States are the most populous countries with the largest population, because of the large population, which is not a big difference in the proportion of the elderly population. In less than 30 years, three-quarters of the world's older people will live in developing countries. In addition, the vast majority of elderly people in developing countries will continue to live in rural areas, no matter how fast urbanization is taking place.

It is noteworthy that, while the number of global migrants has steadily increased, one-way mobility from underdeveloped areas to developed regions and the rejuvenation of migrant populations have been demonstrated. The trend of population aging in the developed areas will be alleviated by immigration.

Measures to deal with aging

United Nations

Back in the 1980s, the United Nations began to explore how to solve the problem of population aging. In 1982, the United Nations convened the first World Assembly on Aging in Vienna and adopted the International Plan of Action on Aging, which included 62 recommendations.

United Nations General Assembly
In 1991, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the United Nations Principles for Older Persons, which established universality standards on five aspects of the status of the elderly: independence, participation, care, self-fulfillment and dignity.

In 2002, the United Nations convened the Second World Assembly on Aging in Madrid, summing up the progress of the action on aging in the twenty years following the Vienna Conference, the adoption of the Madrid Political Declaration on Aging and the International Plan of Action on Aging, Integration into national development frameworks.

Countries around the world

There are a wide range of policies to address the challenges and aging of the world's population, but there are two broad categories.

The first category is aimed at improving the age structure of the population itself, including policies to encourage childbearing and immigration policies.

The second category is to deal with the problems of population aging, mainly in two directions, one including postpone retirement age pension reform, the second is the medical and health reform.

In Madrid, Spain, a large number of protesters participated in protests against the extension of the legal retirement age.

The United States, Japan, South Korea

The government formulates the corresponding laws and regulations, the principle and the policy, tries to solve the population aging question;

And actively guide the social forces to participate in the cause of old age;

Reforming and Perfecting the Old - age Social Security System.

United Kingdom

Reform the retirement system, mainly to curb early retirement and raise the retirement age;

Advocacy of active aging, social inclusion and self-reliance;

Immigrants play an active role in solving the problem of population aging;

Implementation of employment-oriented social policies;

Vigorously develop human resources.

Germany

Reform the old - age insurance system;

Extend the retirement age;

Educational reform;

Encourage migration;

Encourage fertility;

Provide a variety of pension methods;

Development of long-term care insurance.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said at the International Day of Older Persons this year that the theme of the International Day of Older Persons this year is "sustainability and urban inclusion for people of all ages", which means providing opportunities for older persons to Secure participation in economic and social life. It also means providing the elderly with the necessary affordable housing and health and social services to help them find a place for old age. Ban called on Governments to create inclusive, safe, dynamic and sustainable cities and human settlements, without letting a person - regardless of his or her age - fall behind.