Study: World not prepared to support growing elderly population

The world is aging so fast that most countries are not prepared to support their swelling numbers of elderly people, according to a global study being issued recently by the United Nations and an elder rights group. The report ranks the social and economic well-being of elders in 91 countries, with Sweden coming out on top and Afghanistan at the bottom. Canada is at fifth place. "In 2011, an estimated five million Canadians were 65 years of age or older, a number that is expected to double in the next 25 years," the report said. The study reflects what advocates for the old have been warning, with increasing urgency, for years: Countries are simply not working quickly enough to cope with a population greying faster than ever before. By the year 2050, for the first time in history, seniors older than 60 will outnumber children younger than 15.