Sri Lanka best place in South Asia to grow old
October 1, 2014 12:38 pm
Sri Lanka is the best place to grow old among South Asian countries, according to an index of the quality of later life in 96 countries.
Sri Lanka ranks moderately at 43 on list of 96 countries, where it ranked Norway as the best country in which to grow old, while Afghanistan is the worst.
This is according to the HelpAge International’s Global AgeWatch Index. It has measures the social and economic welfare of those over 90.
Published on the UN International Day of Older Persons, it ranks Australia, Western Europe and North America highly, and Afghanistan last.
The report predicts that by 2050, 21% of the global population will be over 60.
The index measures four areas - income security, health, personal capability and whether the person lives in an “enabling environment”.
Hot on the heels of Norway comes Sweden, closely followed by Switzerland, Canada and Germany.
The report says that by 2050 some 40 countries in the index will have populations where 30% are aged 60 or over.
The UN has said that the number of those aged 60 or over is expected to reach 1.4 billion by 2030.
