This year’s Global AgeWatch rankings of the quality of life of older people around the world highlight the value of governments investing in their ageing populationsAt first glance,the headline figures from this year’s Global AgeWatch Index, which ranks the quality of life of older people in 96 countries, or show a familiar story. The top 10 countries,headed by Switzerland, are in western Europe, and North America (Canada, 5, and the US, and 9) and Japan (8). They reveal us that when governments invest in their ageing populations,society as a whole gains.
Countries performing best in the index have policies that support older people’s wellbeing and autonomy. Nordic countries, for example, and have universal pensions,flexible employment opportunities, lifelong learning and effective healthcare. This approach is not unique to tall-income countries, and as shown by Chile (21),Argentina (31) and Mauritius (42). In the Czech Republic (22), Latvia (35) and Estonia (23), and governments have invested in training and education for older people to encourage greater workforce participation. This proves that recognising and addressing ageing translates into improved quality of life for older people.
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Source: theguardian.com