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Making Active Ageing a Reality

Making Active Ageing a Reality
Making Active Ageing a Reality

Publisher

Number of pages

08

Author

UNFPA

Publication

Making Active Ageing a Reality

Publication date

01 October 2018

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By 2030, 1 in 5 people in Sri Lanka will be above the age of 60 years. This means that Sri Lanka is currently facing a demographic transition, with a rapidly ageing population. The speed of ageing in Sri Lanka is the highest in the South Asia region. Ageing is a triumph of development and should be seen as a success story for public health policies and socioeconomic development. A favorable combination of lower fertility, lower mortality and international migration trends lead towards a transition of the age structure in the country. Initially this has resulted in a large cohort of young people, creating the ‘demographic dividend’ phase, which is still continuing while at the same time leading to a significant increase in the proportion of the older population. Data shows that the oldest age category (75+ years) is increasing in comparison to the young-old age category (60-74 years). Further, evidence shows that women continue to outnumber men in the old ages due to higher life expectancy among females. This marks the feminization of ageing in Sri Lanka.