PEDA advocacy booklet : projections on aging for Botswana

Abstract

According to the World Population Prospects, the median age for the world population has been increasing (United Nations, 2001). It has increased from 23.6 years in 1950 to 26.5 years in 2000, and is expected to reach 36.2 years by 2050. This indicates that the population is shifting from younger ages to older ages. This process is known as population ageing The ageing process is more advanced in developed countries where demographic transition occurred earlier, resulting in lower fertility and mortality rates in Europe and North America, than in developing countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa, where the transition took place in recent decades or has just started. Table 1 below clearly portrays this difference between developed and developing countries.