CHALLENGES
THE
G POPULATIO
O F AN AG I N
N
It is a challenge the entire world is facing; one that is
demanding the attention of policy makers, economists
and healthcare leaders: for the first time in history, it
is expected that the number of seniors worldwide will
surpass the number of children under the age of five.
While seniors represented just 8percentage of the total
global population in 1950, and 10 percentage in the year
2000, by 2050, it is forecasted that people aged 65 years
or older will account for 20 percentage of the world's
population. Here in Canada, an estimated 5 million
people are aged 65 years or older, a number that is
expected to double in the next 25 years. By 2051, nearly
one in four Canadians will be 65 years or older.
This demographic shift has been accompanied by an
increase in the number of people living longer with
chronic illnesses, including age-associated brain
disorders. Of especially great concern has been the
dramatically rising prevalence of dementia, in which
Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause. The
total number of people with dementia worldwide is
presently estimated at approximately 35.6 million and is
projected to nearly double every 20 years to 65.7 million
in 2030, and 115.4 million in 2050. According to the
World Health Organization (WHO), there is one new
1
Strategic Plan 2013 - 2018
