Abstract
The Asian population is ageing rapidly with a profound demographic shift. It has been estimated that by the year 2050, there will be 1.3 billion (~25%) of Asian at the age of 60 or above. This will be more than twice the number in 2016. The most severely affected regions include the East and North-East Asia (36.8%), followed by the North and Central Asia (24.5%). Among the Asian countries and regions, the longest life expectancy was reported in Hong Kong (85.3 years), Japan (85.0 years), Macau (84.7 years), Singapore (84.1 years) and South Korea (83.5 years). There exists a linear relationship between country-specific Gross-Domestic Product (GDP) and the level of population ageing. The older population in the less developed countries are experiencing quicker increase than the more developed countries. Such change is translated to having 80% of the elderly worldwide living in the less developed nations. The chapter explores the impacts of ageing on healthcare and social issues.
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Acknowledgements
The author wishes to acknowledge Mr Peter Tin, Research Assistant of the JC School of Public Health and Primary Care of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, for his assistance in the literature review.
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Wong, M.C.S. (2022). Ageing and Its Impacts on Healthcare and Social Issues. In: Law, V.T.S., Fong, B.Y.F. (eds) Ageing with Dignity in Hong Kong and Asia. Quality of Life in Asia, vol 16. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3061-4_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-3061-4_1
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