In 2019, more than 1.0 billion people worldwide were aged 60 and over. That figure is projected to rise to 1.4 billion by 2030, pushing up the old age dependency burden. Countries with limited health and care capacity carry much of the pressure as spending, workforce demand, and long-term care markets expand together.
Key Takeaways
- 1.0 billion people are aged 60+ worldwide in 2019, with the number projected to reach 1.4 billion by 2030
- 20.0% of Germany’s population is aged 65+ (2023)
- 75% of the world’s older people live in low- and middle-income countries
- In 2021, Canada’s old-age dependency ratio was 24.7 (65+ per 100 15–64)
- By 2050, South Korea is projected to have an old-age dependency ratio above 70
- 5.2% of GDP is spent on health care in OECD countries, on average, and health spending is projected to keep rising with population ageing
- Medicare spending is projected to reach $10.2 trillion from 2024 to 2033 (trustees’ projections)
- In 2022, the UK’s health and social care spending increased to £335.0 billion
- Dementia affects about 10% of people aged 65+
- In OECD countries, the share of jobs in “health and social work” was 9.8% in 2022
- 10.8% of the world’s population was aged 65+ in 2021
- Health spending is projected to increase by 2.0 percentage points of GDP on average in OECD countries by 2060
- Older adults accounted for 34% of all deaths globally in 2021 (age 70+ share)
- Global healthcare spending is projected to reach $10.0 trillion by 2022 (with aging as a key driver)
- Hypertension prevalence was 66.1% among adults aged 65+ in the United States in 2017–2018
As populations age, health and long term care spending is rising worldwide, straining services across low and high income countries.
Related reading
01 · Category
Population Scale2 stats
01
1.0 billion people are aged 60+ worldwide in 2019, with the number projected to reach 1.4 billion by 2030https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/world-population-prospects-2019.html
02
20.0% of Germany’s population is aged 65+ (2023)https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Population_structure_and_ageing
Interpretation
Population Scale Interpretation
Under the Population Scale lens, the share of older people is rising fast, with the number of adults aged 60+ growing from 1.0 billion worldwide in 2019 to a projected 1.4 billion by 2030, while Germany already has 20.0% of its population aged 65+ in 2023.
02 · Category
Dependency And Aging3 stats
01
75% of the world’s older people live in low- and middle-income countrieshttps://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/ageing-and-health
02
In 2021, Canada’s old-age dependency ratio was 24.7 (65+ per 100 15–64)https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=DP_LIVE
03
By 2050, South Korea is projected to have an old-age dependency ratio above 70https://www.oecd.org/en/data/%20(OECD%20Data%E2%80%94dependency%20ratio:%20https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=DP_LIVE
Interpretation
Dependency And Aging Interpretation
For the dependency and aging category, the trend is clear: by 2050 South Korea is projected to have an old-age dependency ratio above 70, while today 75% of the world’s older people already live in low- and middle-income countries and Canada’s 24.7 ratio in 2021 shows how quickly this burden can rise.
03 · Category
Healthcare Spending5 stats
01
5.2% of GDP is spent on health care in OECD countries, on average, and health spending is projected to keep rising with population ageinghttps://www.oecd.org/health/health-data.htm
02
Medicare spending is projected to reach $10.2 trillion from 2024 to 2033 (trustees’ projections)https://www.cms.gov/files/document/2024-medicare-trustees-report.pdf
03
In 2022, the UK’s health and social care spending increased to £335.0 billionhttps://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical-work-areas/cost-of-health-and-care-in-england/2022-23
04
OECD projects health spending to increase from an average of 9% of GDP in 2019 to 12% by 2060 in many member countrieshttps://www.oecd.org/health/health-systems-health-data.htm%20(OECD%20health%20projections:%20https://www.oecd.org/health/health-systems/health-spending-and-financing.htm
05
In 2022, Germany’s health spending was 12.7% of GDPhttps://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/data/oecd-health-statistics/health-spending-capita-and-as-a-share-of-gdp_health-data-en
Interpretation
Healthcare Spending Interpretation
Healthcare spending is set to keep climbing as ageing accelerates, with health expenditures rising from about 9% of GDP in 2019 to 12% by 2060 across OECD countries and projections showing Medicare alone could reach $10.2 trillion by 2033.
04 · Category
Care Needs And Workforce2 stats
01
Dementia affects about 10% of people aged 65+https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/dementia
02
In OECD countries, the share of jobs in “health and social work” was 9.8% in 2022https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=HEALTH_LVNG
Interpretation
Care Needs And Workforce Interpretation
As populations age, dementia already affects about 10% of people aged 65 and over, and with health and social work accounting for just 9.8% of jobs in OECD countries in 2022, the care workforce may struggle to keep pace with rising care needs.
More related reading
05 · Category
Demographics1 stats
01
10.8% of the world’s population was aged 65+ in 2021https://population.un.org/dataportal/ageing/
Interpretation
Demographics Interpretation
In the Demographics category, the fact that 10.8% of the world’s population was aged 65 and over in 2021 signals that the global ageing trend is already well underway.
06 · Category
Economic Burden3 stats
01
Health spending is projected to increase by 2.0 percentage points of GDP on average in OECD countries by 2060https://www.oecd.org/health/health-systems/health-statistics.htm
02
Older adults accounted for 34% of all deaths globally in 2021 (age 70+ share)https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(24)00323-9/fulltext
03
Global healthcare spending is projected to reach $10.0 trillion by 2022 (with aging as a key driver)https://www.ihsmarkit.com/products/healthcare-spending.html
Interpretation
Economic Burden Interpretation
As populations age, health spending is expected to rise by an average 2.0 percentage points of GDP in OECD countries by 2060, with global healthcare set to reach $10.0 trillion by 2022, making the economic burden of ageing increasingly unavoidable.
07 · Category
Health & Care3 stats
01
Hypertension prevalence was 66.1% among adults aged 65+ in the United States in 2017–2018https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db445.pdf
02
In 2022, cardiovascular diseases accounted for 41% of deaths among people aged 70+ globallyhttps://www.who.int/data/gho/indicator-metadata-registry/imr-details/2382
03
In 2020, 70% of COVID-19 deaths were among people aged 65+ in the United Stateshttps://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/
Interpretation
Health & Care Interpretation
Health and Care faces a clear pressure as hypertension affects 66.1% of US adults aged 65+ and cardiovascular diseases drive 41% of global deaths among those 70+, while COVID-19 also hit harder in older age groups with 70% of deaths occurring in people aged 65+ in the United States in 2020.
08 · Category
Market & Employment5 stats
01
In 2023, the global long-term care market was valued at $1.3 trillionhttps://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/long-term-care-market
02
In 2024, the global elderly care services market was valued at $1.6 trillionhttps://www.imarcgroup.com/elderly-care-market
03
In 2023, the global home healthcare market was valued at $202.7 billionhttps://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/home-healthcare-market
04
In 2023, the OECD reported that employment in health and social work accounted for 10.2% of total employment on averagehttps://www.oecd.org/employment/health-and-social-work.htm
05
In 2024, the European Commission reported that around 1.3 million people work in care services across the EU in residential settingshttps://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=89&langId=en&newsId=10730
Interpretation
Market & Employment Interpretation
As the ageing population expands demand for care, the market size is surging with the global long term care market reaching $1.3 trillion in 2023 and the elderly care services market hitting $1.6 trillion in 2024, while employment keeps pace with health and social work averaging 10.2% of total jobs across OECD countries and about 1.3 million people working in EU residential care services in 2024.
report visual · Key figures
Ageing population: global growth (60+ projected)
The number of people aged 60+ worldwide is projected to rise substantially from 2019 to 2030.
1.0
1.0 billion people are aged 60+ worldwide in 2019, with the number projected to reach 1.4 billion by 2030
20%
20.0% of Germany’s population is aged 65+ (2023)
75%
75% of the world’s older people live in low- and middle-income countries
source-verifiedun.org · ec.europa.eu · who.int2023
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Lars Eriksen. (2026, February 13). Ageing Population Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/ageing-population-statistics
MLA
Lars Eriksen. "Ageing Population Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/ageing-population-statistics.
Chicago
Lars Eriksen. 2026. "Ageing Population Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/ageing-population-statistics.
Sources & references
24 datasets cited across this report
+8 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)