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India has emerged as among the worst places in the world to grow old

For a  country, where nearly 117 million people are above the age of 60, India has been ranked as low as 71 among 96 countries – much lower than almost all its Southeast Asian neighbours. This was according to the Global Age Watch Index released by Britain’s University of Southampton and Help Age International.

According to this article:

  • India scores the lowest in the elderly health front where an average 60 year old is expected to live only 12.6 years in good health.
  • Almost 1 in 2 elderly people in India don’t have relatives or friends they can count on when in trouble while 2 in 5 don’t feel safe walking alone at night.
  • One in three is not satisfied with the freedom of choice in their life while 30% are not satisfied with the local public transportation systems.
  • Around 1 in 10 feels their life has no meaning while 3 in 4 elderly people have no secondary or higher education.

Countries investing in improving the lives of older people are at the top of the Index. They are implementing policies which promote social pensions, universal healthcare and enabling physical and social environments for older people.

Providing for the elderly population has always been on the back burner for India . But the country is  facing an elderly population ‘time bomb’ according to a 2013 UNFPA  report which revealed its number of old people will triple by 2050.
To read our previous article on this issue, click here.

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