Demography of Aging

Abstract

In the 1960s, the demographic phenomenon that received a great deal of both scholarly and popular attention was rapid population growth, popularly referred to as the population explosion. By the end of the 20th century, global population aging—the graying of the world (Peterson 1999)—was the demographic phenomenon receiving a great deal of attention. These demographic trends generated widespread alarm regarding the threat that each posed to the future social and economic well-being of societies. Interestingly, both are produced by the modernization of demographic behavior, or the demographic transition. Rapid population growth occurred as death rates declined rapidly, resulting in birth rates exceeding death rates. As birth rates subsequently declined around the world, population growth slowed and population aging began. In other words, population aging is the price paid for solving the challenge of population growth. There is, however, an important contrast between the issues of rapid population growth and population aging. Rapid population growth appears to be a short-term phenomenon, whereas the marked change in age composition resulting from population aging is unlikely to be reversed in the future. This chapter begins by discussing the demographic determinants and global patterns of population aging and then explores a series of important issues related to population aging: How does migration affect population age composition? What are the implications of population aging for pension systems? How does population aging affect population health and health care? How does population aging affect kinship structures? Finally, it reviews methodological issues related to studying population aging and future research directions.