Elderly population doubles

The ageing population in Sri Lanka has doubled in the last three decades with the majority being women.

Sri Lanka has the fastest ageing population in South Asia, with 2.5 million of its people being above the age of 60. By 2030, it is projected that one in five persons will fall into the category.

A report prepared by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on the Ageing population of Sri Lanka stated that the island has 289,000 older women more than men in 2012, which ‘marked the feminization of ageing in Sri Lanka’.

The report further highlighted that 56 percent of the elderly population in total was made up of women and as the years piled, the number simply increased, with 61 percent of the oldest group (80 and over) being women.

“Having an ageing population is an achievement having invested so long in healthcare and education. Now it is up to us to do the rest for this population which we have helped create,” Director General of DCS, Dr A.J. Satharasinghe said addressing the UNFPA inter-generational dialogue on population ageing held at the Cinnamon Grand yesterday.

He pointed out that the elderly population comprising the young-old (60-69 years), made up of the majority of the elderly and that it was important to find employment opportunities for the group which can still work.

This, Dr Satharasinghe said would help reduce the age dependency ration which has increased from 11 to 20 percent from 1980 to 2012.

The need to look after the elderly thus is going to be an economic burden for the Government and the working population.

Census data found that close to 10 percent of the elderly population had not attended school and that two thirds had a secondary or lower education. Moreover, 43 percent of older men were employed which only 11 percent of older women were meaningfully employed.

Adding to the women’s vulnerability was the fact that one in three were widows.

“With regard to living arrangements, only 1 percent lived in homes. It is a number we cannot be satisfied with,” Dr. Satharasinghe said.

He said 56 percent of older persons were heads of households, adding stress to them and 59.2 percent lived in extended families. In the estate sector, three fourth of the elderly lived in semi-permanent housing. The majority of the elderly, 31 percent lived in the Western Province.

The greatest concern for the elderly unsurprisingly was sickness, as Dr. Satharasinghe explained that over half had physical and mental impairments while one of two suffered from chronic diseases (17.8 percent of total population).

This meant that the Healthcare system of the country needed to be specially trained to look after the elderly, Dr Satharasinghe said.

Overall, the DCS DG said the Government needed to look into policies which would address this underutilized workforce in future while also making necessary changes to accommodate geriatric care in the health sector.