International demographic trends and perspectives on aging

In 1980, more than 376 million persons were age 60 or older in the world. By the year 2000, this figure is expected to increase by 57% to 590.4 million. Approximately 61% of these persons will be living in the lesser developed countries of the world. The growth and distribution of older persons throughout the world will have far reaching consequences for the utilization of national resources, including health resources.This article is a revised and abridged version of International Research Document No. 12, Center for International Research, U.S. Bureau of the Census. That report of the same title, was expanded from a paper originally presented at the U.N. World Assembly on Aging, held in Vienna, Austria, 1982. The original paper was published in the conference proceedings World Health Statistics Quarterly, Vol. 35, Numbers 3/4,1983.