(01 October 2014) – HelpAge International has published its “Global AgeWatch Index 2014” ranking 96 countries according to the social and economic wellbeing of older people.
In many countries, life expectancy at 60 is now at least a third more than what it was in the mid-twentieth century. However, people’s experience of later life varies, depending to a large extent on where they live and their circumstances earlier in life. While many more people are living in better health and comfort than in the past, millions still face a bleak old age.
The 2014 Global AgeWatch Index ranks 96 countries by how well their ageing populations are faring. It is based on four domains that are key enablers of older people’s wellbeing: income, health, capability and enabling environment.
Norway is the best country to be old in followed by Sweden. 10 other EU countries appear in the top twenty: Germany (5), the Netherlands (6), the UK (11), Denmark (12), Austria (14), Finland (15), France (16), Ireland (17), Luxembourg (19) and Estonia (20).
In low- and middle-income countries, only one in four people over 65 receive a pension. The Index shows that policies supporting people in later life such as pensions, educational and employment opportunities, free healthcare and subsidised transport exist but need to be implemented faster and more systematically.