Longitudinal Ageing Study of India

23rd March, 2016

Longitudinal Ageing Study of India

The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare launched the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI), here today. 

Need:

Ageing Scenario

On the concern of increasing portion of elderly population in the country. The study will provide valuable data on their health needs, and issues faced by them given the changing social structures, and help us to draw policy tools to address their issues. 

It will survey more than 60,000 elderly over 25 years plan

Conducted by:

The International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai in collaboration with Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and University of Southern California (USC), USA

Facts behind:

The global share of older people aged 60 years or over increased from 9.2 percent in 1990 to 11.7 percent in 2013 and will continue to grow as a proportion of the world population, reaching 21.1 percent by 2050. 

Presently, about two thirds of the world’s older persons live in developing countries. 

By 2050, nearly 8 in 10 of the world’s older population will live in the less developed regions. 

Population ageing threatens to topple existing insurance and pension systems and create health system overload; therefore calls for review of existing models of healthcare, familial and social support.

According to the 2011 census, the 60+ population accounted for 8.6% of India’s total population or 103.84 million elderly.

India’s life expectancy at birth nearly will reach to 76 years, by 2050. As a result, India’s population will rise from 1.3 billion today to an estimated 1.7 billion by 2050, with a much larger elderly share of around 340 million.

Including the pre-retirement phase (i.e., population age 45+), the proportion will rise to over 30%, or almost 600 million persons. Between 2011 and 2050, the number of oldest old people of age 75 and above is expected to increase by 340%.