NEANDERTHAL
30
years
years
500 BC / 500 AD
Classical Greece and Rome
35
years
years
500 / 1500
Middle Ages
38
years
years
1800 / 1850
19th Century
40
years
years
1900
60
years
years
1950
72
years
years
2000
81
years
years
2019
84
years
years
What is demographic ageing?
It is the evolution from populations with many births, which were necessary due to many premature deaths, to populations that require few births since nearly all those who are born live much longer.
Population pyramid
in Spain:
1900
18.618.086
2020
47.450.795
Source: National Institute of Statistics.
Is demographic ageing reversible?
No, it is not a reversible condition; it is a new demographic reality. The solution doesn’t involve fixing it, but rather adapting to it.
How does this evolution occur?
It is an overall change, one that has occurred slowly, gradually and over time throughout the last century and a half. During this time, we have faced health and survival crises, such as the flu of 1918 or the Spanish Civil War, or the two world wars in the case of other populations. All of these crises caused the conditions for survival to temporarily worsen, but they did not change the overall trend towards the sustained growth in longevity and the transformation in the reproduction and structure of populations.
Evolution of
life expectancy:
This transformation occurred in two major steps:
1
Reducing early mortality. We are now more equal in the face of death!
1850
1950
Simulation of life expectancy when the same person is born in 1850 or 1950.
2
Extending life trajectories.
1950
2000
2019
63 years
81 years
84 years
65 years
79 years
84 years
72 years
80 years
83 years
69 years
78 years
83 years
72 years
79 years
84 years
61 years
76 years
81 years
Curiosity
Do you think we are
moving towards an inverted pyramid?
View answer
No; if we consider large populations (such as the Spanish or European population), we will not eventually see an inverted pyramid. The population graph will evolve from a pyramid shape (where many individuals are born, but a good number of them soon die) to a tower shape (where almost all who are born live a long life). Nevertheless, during the first half of the 21st century, population graphs will be marked by the baby boomers (individuals born in Spain during the 1960s and the first half of the 1970s), an especially large generation since there were many births at that time.
On another level, in smaller populations that were greatly affected by emigration flows in the 20th century, it is possible that population graphs are more like inverted pyramids.
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