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The newly-published Global AgeWatch
Index 2013 provides a country-by-country comparison of the well-being of
older people, and gives an idea of just how efficient current
government policies are.
Though population ageing is a major concern for national and
international development, it is essentially a long-term issue which has
tended to be shelved, especially since the authorities have had a more
urgent situation to deal with over the past few years in the shape of
the latest economic crisis. Although there is a wealth of national
statistics on the status of the older section of the population, until
now there has not been any centralised international index. This has
meant that no real comparison between countries could be made, slowing
down the process of drawing up long-term international policies to take
proper account of older people’s issues. Now the Global AgeWatch Index, compiled by teams working under Professor Asghar Zaidi at the Centre for Research on Ageing, University of Southampton, UK and international NGO HelpAge International,
with contributions from many experts both from civil society
and various UN organisations, fills the gap and provides a clear and
precise international overview of the well-
being of older citizens.
Northern countries riding high, wide inequalities apparent
One might expect to see the G20 countries placed on average fairly high
up the rankings, but the countries achieving the best scores on
age-related matters are in fact Sweden, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands
and Canada, which come out as the top five in the Index ranking. The
total mark is the aggregate of a number of areas: income security,
health status, employment and education and, more generally, what the
Index calls an ‘enabling environment’ for the well-being of older
people. France is down in 18th. Perhaps the most worrying issue is that
among those countries whose populations are set to age the fastest in
the coming years – such as Russia because of its low birth rate, China
due to its family planning policies and India even in spite of its
demographic explosion – most are ranked lower down the table.
Comparisons as a basis for action
Given the recent increases in life expectancy around the world,
policies for supporting and protecting older people in the short-medium
term would appear to be a must for the majority of countries.
“By bringing together all available internationally comparable data, the
Index highlights those countries with successful policies and
strategies and is offered as a reference point, giving policy-makers
an opportunity to identify their own countries' strengths and
weaknesses,” explained Professor Zaidi. In terms of comparison, the
Index undermines the easy assumption that pro-senior policies are the
preserve of the richer countries. For example, Bolivia, one of the
poorest countries, ranks higher than Greece and South Africa. In the
same way that the United Nations Development Programme-sponsored
Human Development Index provides a complement and counterpoint to GDP,
the Global AgeWatch Index underlines the fact that the effectiveness of
policies for the aged is less a question of cost or national wealth and
more to do with making decisive public policy choices.
place, with a total of 75 points, some way behind the top five on or around 89 points.
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