By Joseph Chamie
PORTLAND, USA, Jun 10 2025 – Older men and women are now living longer than ever before. Across the globe, individuals who reach old age can expect to have more years of life ahead of them than in previous generations. However, these additional years of life, coupled with the disparities among and within countries, including variations between older men and women, present substantial economic, social, and political challenges for societies.

Global Trends

In 1950, the world’s average life expectancies for men and women at age 65 were about 11 and 12 additional years, respectively. By 2025, those average life expectancies at age 65 increased by over 50%, reaching about 16 additional years of life for men and 19 additional years for women.

The trend of living longer at age 65 is expected to continue throughout the rest of the 21st century. By 2100, for example, the world’s average life expectancies for men and women at age 65 are projected to be 21 and 23 additional years, respectively, which are double the numbers of additional years of remaining life in 1950 (Figure 1).

Source: United Nations.

The good news about older men and women living longer is also clear at age 80. In 1950, the world’s average life expectancies for men and women at age 80 were approximately 5 years. By 2025, that average life expectancy is estimated to have increased by approximately 50%, reaching close to 8 additional years for men and 9 years for women.

The largest gains and highest levels of life expectancy at older ages are among wealthier, more developed countries. While less developed countries have also gained additional years of life at older ages, their increases have been substantially less than those of the more developed countries, which has contributed to widening the gap between them

As at age 65, the trend of men and women living longer at age 80 is also expected to continue throughout the rest of the 21st century. By 2100, for example, the world’s life expectancies at age 80 for men and women are projected to be approximately 11 and 12 years, respectively.

The gains in longevity at older ages have also increased the differences between men and women. Not only do women live longer than men, but differences in additional years of life at older ages between them have increased during the past seventy-five years.

Country Trends

The largest gains and highest levels of life expectancy at older ages are among wealthier, more developed countries. While less developed countries have also gained additional years of life at older ages, their increases have been substantially less than those of the more developed countries, which has contributed to widening the gap between them.

In Japan and Italy, for example, the current additional years of life for men and women aged 65 are approximately 20 years and 24 years, respectively, or nearly double the levels in 1950. A similar pattern of increase in additional years of life for those two countries took place for men and women at age 80.

In contrast, the current additional years of life of men and women aged 65 in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are about 13 years, which are only several years more than they were in 1950. Also, the improvements in additional years of life for men and women at age 80 since 1950 are relatively modest, typically only a single year of increase (Table 1).

Source: United Nations.

Regarding the future, the additional years of life of older persons among countries are expected to continue increasing worldwide throughout the 21st century. In Japan and Italy, for example, men and women aged 65 years at the end of the century can expect to live approximately 28 and 32 additional years, respectively.

Again, in contrast, the corresponding gains in additional years of life for men and women aged 65 in Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo are considerably lower. By the end of the century, the additional years of life for men and women aged 65 years in those two countries are around 15 years.

Besides variations across countries, the additional years of life of older individuals also vary significantly within countries.

For example, in the United States, life expectancies of older individuals vary among the country’s fifty states. These variations are mainly because of differences in socioeconomic status, access to healthcare, public health policies, lifestyle factors, and political policies.

In 2021, the highest life expectancies for those 65 years and older were approximately 18 years for males and 21 years for females in Hawaii, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and New York. In contrast, the lowest life expectancies at age 65 were about 15 years for males and 18 years for females in Mississippi, West Virginia, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Kentucky (Figure 2).

Source: US National Vital Statistics Reports.

Challenges

Additional years of life in old age certainly offer positive news for older men and women and for their families, friends, and communities. Longer lives for older men and women provide them with additional time for learning, adventure, recreation, development, work, and contributions.

However, those additional years of life for older individuals also raise noteworthy challenges.

For example, challenges will arise for public health, housing, work and retirement, healthcare, and elder care. Also, the increased life expectancies for older men and women raise the risks of multiple morbidity, disability, dementia, and degenerative diseases.

At the same time that older people are living longer, fertility rates are declining worldwide, with many countries experiencing below replacement fertility. And because of those low fertility rates, countries are entering uncharted territories of population decline and demographic ageing.

One important consequence of those uncharted territories is declining potential support ratios, i.e., declining numbers of persons aged 20 to 64 years per person aged 65 years or older.

Whereas the world’s potential support ratio was 10 in 1950, it declined to 8.6 by 1975 and declined further to 5.0 by 2025. By 2050, the ratio is expected to be 3.0 (Table 2).

Source: United Nations.

The declining potential support ratios, which are occurring worldwide but are the lowest in more developed countries, raise the important issue of the age for retirement.

Ageing populations, decreasing fertility rates, and declining potential support ratios are impacting the financial sustainability of pension systems. As a result, a common policy strategy of many countries that aims to address the financial viability of their pension systems is to raise their current retirement ages.

As French President Emmanuel Macron has said, “vivre plus longtemps, travailler plus longtemps” (“live longer, work longer”). China is also gradually raising the retirement age to address its shrinking workforce relative to its growing older population.

As with government pension programs, the increasing longevity and growing proportions of older persons are also impacting the affordability and financial sustainability of government healthcare systems.

In particular, the rising prevalence of chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, as well as the need for long-term care services, like nursing homes and assisted living facilities, are rapidly increasing healthcare costs for the growing population of older men and women who are living longer lives.

Conclusions

In conclusion, there are several important points that need to be emphasized. First, older men and women are now living longer than ever before, and this trend of increased longevity is expected to continue throughout the 21st century.

Second, the additional years of life expectancy among older individuals have widened the gap between more developed and less developed countries. While gains in life expectancies for older individuals have occurred worldwide, the largest gains have been seen in the wealthier, more developed countries.

Besides differences among countries, the gains in longevity at older ages also vary within countries. Variations within countries arise mainly because of differences in socioeconomic status, access to healthcare, public health policies, lifestyle factors, and political policies.

Third, the gains in life expectancy at older ages have also increased the differences between men and women. Not only do women live longer than men, but the gap in additional years of life at older ages between them has increased in recent years, particularly in more developed countries.

Finally, the additional years of life for older men and women, combined with population decline and demographic ageing, present important economic, social, and political challenges for governments and their citizens. Challenges will arise in the areas of public health, housing, work and retirement, healthcare, and elder care.

Joseph Chamie is a consulting demographer, a former director of the United Nations Population Division, and author of many publications on population issues, including his recent book, “Population Levels, Trends, and Differentials”.

By Cecilia Russell
NICE, France, Jun 10 2025 – While the island states in the Pacific may be modest, the ocean that surrounds them represents a huge oceanic state—an area equivalent to the entire European Continent.

And for the first time, 22 Pacific Island countries and territories have pledged to manage 100 percent of the Blue Pacific Continent sustainably and protect at least 30 percent by 2030, Director General of the Pacific Community Dr. Stuart Minchin told a packed-to-capacity crowd at a launch held on June 10 at the 3rd UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) currently underway in Nice, France.

“That kind of commitment sends a clear message the Pacific is not waiting on the world,” Minchin said of the project known as the Unlocking Blue Pacific Prosperity (UBPP).

Elaborating on the project, speakers said this initiative, dubbed the largest conservation project in the world, meant that the countries and territories have shifted from short-term regional projects to long-term, Pacific-led solutions over donor-driven models.

The commitment aims to support healthy oceans, strong communities, and blue economies, integrating traditional wisdom and indigenous practices.

Hon. Maina Vakafua, Minister of Climate Change, Tuvalu, described the project as a “gift from the Pacific to the world in support of global goals for biodiversity, climate action, and sustainable development.”

“We are moving away from small, one-time projects to more coordinated, long-term programs that support healthy oceans, strong communities, and blue economies.”

With it, Vakafua said, came blended finance tools that would fit the needs of the Pacific countries—especially in a region where, despite being on the frontlines of climate change, less than 1 percent of global climate finance reaches the region, representing 4.6 percent allocated to the Asia-Pacific and less than 7 percent of the assessed climate finance needs.

“We are protecting our ocean, and we are helping to create a better future for everyone, especially those who depend on the oceans for their daily survival. We invite partners, donors, and friends of the ocean to join us,” Vakafua said.

UBPP’s goals include 100 percent conservation, robust food systems, and fit-for-purpose financing. Financing mechanisms include grants, payments for ecosystem services, and loans. The initiative aims to create a regenerative blue economy, supporting marine protected areas, coastal stewardship, and nature-positive businesses.

Karena Lyons, Director of Partnerships, Integration, and Resource Mobilization, explained that the Pacific leaders came together because they recognized the need for a region-led initiative to take ocean stewardship to the next level.

“They saw how climate change is impacting our peoples, putting food security, water access, and livelihoods at risk, so the EBPP represents our intention to shift the paradigm.”

“This will be the largest coordinated ocean conservation effort in the history of the world. This is an area the size of the European continent. What’s different is that we want to build it with investors and strategic partners so that we can align capital with climate, conservation, and community outcomes.”

The launch ended with an unveiling of a handcrafted tapa, adorned with a map of the Blue Pacific, made and designed in Fiji. The tapa symbolizes unity and a shared vision for ocean protection and will travel around the Pacific, collecting stories of ocean advocacy and action—in the end It will be auctioned to support ocean conservation efforts.

IPS UN Bureau Report