Emerging Issues Of Population Aging In Sri Lanka

This report discusses how Sri Lanka can prepare for the challenges of an aging population. By 2050, Sri Lanka will go through an unprecedented demographic transition into an aging population at a lower level of per capita income than other aging economies. This publication analyzes the living arrangements and incomes of the over-60s in Sri Lanka, and patterns and trends of aging. It identifies the challenges the country is likely to face and suggests how policy makers can tackle them.

On older people and government response in Sri Lanka; study emerged out of a seminar on ageing of the Sri Lankan population conducted by the PASL in collaboration with UNFPA, Colombo, 2002.

The Meeting on the Emerging issues of the Aging of Population was held at Bangkok, from 22-26 September 1986. It was organized by the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific with financial assistance from the UN Fund for Population Activities. The long-term objective of the project was to increase awareness among policy makers and planners of the emerging problems of population aging and provide them with alternative policies. The situation and emerging issues of aging are illustrated in this report at the country level by case studies of the 3 countries participating in the projects: Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, and Sri Lanka. Discussion themes include educational programs for older people, the appropriateness of lowering the mandatory retirement age to improve employment prospects for younger people, and the difficulty for individuals and governments of planning ahead when life expectancy is rising so rapidly. In virtually all the countries of the region, traditional filial piety is weakening, in many cases because adult children experienced income rises which do not keep up with the cost of living or rising expectations. Given that the young are becoming more individualistic, it was agreed that government measures were required to strengthen existing family support and to provide alternatives when it was not available. The background paper on current issues related to population aging emphasizes the Japanese experience and covers senior citizen clubs in Japan, national pension plans mandatory retirement ages, and the use and transfer of older people's personal wealth. Another background paper conceptualizes the social roles of older people in both developing and developed countries in the context of rapid social change and the need for appropriate policy responses. A background paper on the nature and adequacy of formal and informal support programs to deal with the problems of the aged examines the socioeconomic changes in the region, various programs, and possible solutions for policy makers. The Meeting considered the design of country studies proposed for China, Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, and Sri Lanka. On completion of theses studies, existing policies will be reviewed and suggestions made for their improvement and development.

Ageing in Asia contains a selection of leading social systems and programs, with interesting case-studies offering innovative and useful lessons. The book covers ageing and related developments occurring in the most dynamic industrializing and urbanizing societies of emerging Asia. It includes topical issues such public policies and responses to current challenges from the growing needs of an ageing population due to rise of chronic non-communicable diseases, amidst rapidly changing social, cultural, economic and political changes in the region. The main purpose of the book is to provide useful comparisons of social care systems undergoing rapid transitions, and to offer some examples of best practices and lessons to respond to the changing needs due to population ageing.

Greater longevity is an indicator of human progress in general. Increased life expectancy and lower fertility rates are changing the population structure worldwide in a major way: the proportion of older persons is rapidly increasing, a process known as population ageing. The process is inevitable and is already advanced in developed countries and progressing quite rapidly in developing ones. The 2007 Survey analyses the implications of population ageing for social and economic development around the world, while recognising that it offers both challenges and opportunities. Among the most pressing issues is that arising from the prospect of a smaller labour force having to support an increasingly larger older population. Paralleling increased longevity are the changes in intergenerational relationships that may affect the provision of care and income security for older persons, particularly in developing countries where family transfers play a major role. At the same time, it is also necessary for societies to fully recognise and better harness the productive and social contributions that older persons can make but are in many instances prevented from making. The Survey argues that the challenges are not insurmountable, but that societies everywhere need to put in place the policies required to confront those challenges effectively and to ensure an adequate standard of living for each of their members, while respecting and promoting the contribution and participation of all.

This book overviews the issue of population ageing in five countries in South Asia and projects the emerging scenarios. With a new field survey, it also documents existing policies and programs on pensions and social security, and examines their fiscal implications for the economy and society. Ageing of population is an inevitable consequence of the process of demographic transition. Being ahead, the developed regions of the world have long experienced its consequences; but the developing world is only now facing the travails of population ageing. Though the population under the age of 15 years in 2000 was estimated to be 3.3 times the size of the population of 60 years and above, the elderly are expected to surpass the number of children under 15 years by the year 2050. Among the elderly, it is the oldest old—those aged 80 years or more, whose numbers would increase most rapidly. Much of this growth would take place in the poor countries of the world. Five South Asian countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal) account for 100 million elderly persons in the beginning of 21st century and it is expected to reach 400 million in 2050. What are the fiscal implications of this tremendous growth for sustaining pensions and social security schemes in South Asia? Are these countries in need of pension reforms? Would these countries be able to provide good health care for the growing population of elderly persons afflicted by multiple diseases and disability? Experts from leading economic research institutions address the issue with a new survey conducted in each country. The book, in effect: Assesses the ageing scenario in five countries in South Asia: past, present, and future; Reviews existing policies and programs on pensions and social security for the elderly; Reports the findings of a sample survey in each of these countries conducted for this work in order to assess the nature, magnitude, and adequacy of various forms of pensions and social assistance; Suggests broad-based comprehensive pension and social security policies in South Asia. .