The demographic shift is due to a combination of a low birthrate and long life expectancy (AFP Photo/KAZUHIRO NOGI) |
Tokyo (AFP)
- More than 28 percent of Japan's population is now officially classified as
elderly according to government data, the highest rate in the world as the
first wave of postwar baby boomers enter old age.
Those aged
65 or older now make up a record 35.6 million, or 28.1 percent of the total
population, the government said Sunday.
The
proportion is the highest by far in the world, ahead of 23.3 percent in Italy,
21.9 percent in Portugal and 21.7 percent in Germany, according to UN data for
those countries.
The
government also said those aged 70 or older accounted for 20.7 percent of the
population, surpassing 20 percent for the first time.
The figures
show the nation's postwar baby boomers are now entering old age, it said.
The
demographic shift is due to a combination of a low birthrate and long life
expectancy.
Japan's
rapidly greying population poses a major headache for policymakers who are
faced with trying to ensure an ever-dwindling pool of workers can pay for the
growing number of pensioners.
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