Living Arrangements of Older Persons Around the World

Populations worldwide are growing older, and the number of persons aged 60 years or over is estimated to triple by the year 2050. This work sets out the findings of the global survey of the patterns and trends in the living arrangements of older persons with comparable demographic, social and economic data for over 130 countries.

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Populations worldwide are growing older, and the number of persons aged 60 years or over is estimated to triple by the year 2050. This publication sets out the findings of the first global survey of the patterns and trends in the living arrangements of older persons with comparable demographic, social and economic data for over 130 countries. The findings include: about one in seven older persons (90 million people) live alone, with the large majority being women (60 million); in developing countries it is most common for older persons to live apart from their children, whereas in developing countries a large majority live with their children; and in many countries with high HIV infection rates, the proportion of older persons living in skipped-generation households (with grandchildren but not with children) is increasing.