According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center, Americans worry less about the aging population than people in other countries. The study takes survey data from 21 countries around the world and combines it with the data on the world's "graying", or aging, population. More than 22,000 survey participants were asked questions about whether the aging population would cause problems for their country, and also inquired about who the participants believed is responsible for elderly care.
Researchers found that areas in Europe and East Asia, with the highest projected percentage of senior citizens, scored highest when rating their level of concern. The study found that 90% of Japanese respondents were worried about the aging of the population, compared to a relatively modest 50% of Spanish and German respondents and only 26% of Americans.
As the population of the world and individual countries ages, many economic and social systems will have to be reevaluated. According to the report, many of the countries in this situation will have to find a way to cope with increased pension and medical costs. Another concern is that the shrinking workforce may not be adequate to support and aged population that is dependent on the workers for economic growth, and that as a result economic slowdowns are likely. In the United States, for example, a result of this phenomenon could be the doubling of healthcare costs to make up nearly 15% of the gross domestic product.
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Part of the reason that Americans are more optimistic about the future outlook and less concerned about the growing percentage of the population that can get senior citizen discounts is that the United States is not aging at the same rate as countries in Europe and Asia. In addition, immigration helps to keep the American workforce from shrinking as rapidly. Another factor in American optimism surrounding the aging is that Americans have a somewhat unique perspective about and expectation of senior citizens. More than a third of survey respondents--46%--from the U.S. said that the elderly have some responsibility to care for themselves.
Increasingly, this means that the burden of caring for the rapidly aging population is passed on to family members. However, you do not have to do it alone. Home Care agencies like ComForcare can provide valuable support to families caring for an elderly loved one and help make sure that our population is aging gracefully, happily, and healthily.
