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Visualizing What COVID-19 Does to Your Body

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what covid-19 does to your body

Visualizing What COVID-19 Does to Your Body

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By now, researchers and health experts have gained a better understanding of the range of symptoms caused by COVID-19, which include fever, a dry cough, and of course, the dangerous inflammation of the respiratory system. Most of us know that COVID-19 can be much more severe than a typical flu, but lesser known are the mechanics behind how the virus causes pneumonia in its victims.

Today’s informative illustration, by scientific designer and animator Avesta Rastan, details the effects COVID-19 has on our lungs, from moderate to severe cases.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), most people who contract COVID-19 only experience mild flu-like symptoms. Occasionally though, the infection can cascade into a severe case of pneumonia that can be lethal, especially for older people and those with underlying medical conditions.

Here’s what COVID-19 does to your body.

Infection

The virus, officially named SARS-CoV-2, enters the body โ€“ generally through the mouth or nose. From there, the virus makes its way down into the air sacs inside your lungs, known as alveoli.

Once in the alveoli, the virus uses its distinctive spike proteins to “hijack” cells. The primary genetic programming of any virus is to make copies of itself, and COVID-19 is no exception. Once the virus’ RNA has entered a cell, new copies are made and the cell is killed in the process, releasing new viruses to infect neighboring cells in the alveolus.

This process can occur initially without a person being aware of the infection, which is one of the reasons COVID-19 has been able to spread so effectively.

Immune Response

The process of hijacking cells to reproduce causes inflammation in the lungs, which triggers an immune response. As this process unfolds, fluid begins to accumulate in the alveoli, causing a dry cough and making breathing difficult.

For 80-85% of people infected by COVID-19, these symptoms will run their course much as they would with a case of the flu.

Severe Symptoms

In 15-20% cases, the immune system’s response to inflammation in the lungs can cause what’s known as a “cytokine storm”. This runaway response can cause more damage to the body’s own cells than to the virus it’s trying to defeat, and is thought to be the main reason for why the conditions of young, otherwise healthy individuals can rapidly deteriorate.

If enough alveoli collapse, a patient to be placed on a ventilator for breathing assistance. Both acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and high-altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) are being investigated as causes.

severe case of covid-19

At this stage, the surfactant that helps keep alveoli from collapsing has been diluted, and fluid containing cellular debris is impairing the gas exchange process that supplies oxygen to our bloodstream.

In the most severe cases, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) occurs as the protein-rich fluid from the lungs enters the bloodstream, resulting in septic shock and multi-organ failure. This is often the cause of death for people who have succumbed to a COVID-19 infection.

The Best Protection

Thankfully, COVID-19 isn’t a death sentence for most people who become infected, but the symptoms described above are not pleasant. Until a vaccine is developed, the best defense is avoiding infection altogether through frequent, thorough hand washing, and physical distancing as recommended by health authorities.

To see the full set of graphics, as well as other health and science related illustrations, visit Avesta Rastan’s website.

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Countries

Charted: The Worldโ€™s Aging Population from 1950 to 2100

This graphic visualizes the worldโ€™s aging population, showing data for every country and territory around the world.

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Charted: The Worldโ€™s Aging Population from 1950 to 2100

As demographics continue to shift in the 21st century, the worldโ€™s aging population will continue to be a focal point for many global decision makers.

Most countries around the world have experienced population explosions, or are about to. Combine this with declining birth rates and falling mortality rates, and it’s clear that the global senior population will continue to reach new heights.

These graphics by Pablo Alvarez use data from the 2022 UN World Population Prospects to visualize this increasing aging population across countries.

The Worldโ€™s Aging Population from 1950 to 2100

In 2022, there were 771 million people aged 65+ years globally, accounting for almost 10% of the world’s population.

This segment has been growing at an increasing rate, and it’s expected to hit 16% in 2050, and eventually 24% by 2100. Here’s what that’s projected to look like, for every country and territory.

Country by Population Aged +65 Years195020222100
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ซ Afghanistan2.85%2.39%16.03%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Albania6.04%16.66%49.08%
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Algeria3.49%6.39%28.83%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ธ American Samoa2.38%7.27%45.41%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Andorra10.02%14.98%37.04%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ด Angola2.93%2.6%12.07%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Anguilla3.69%10.71%37.49%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Antigua and Barbuda4.14%10.63%35.4%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ท Argentina4.13%11.92%31.79%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Armenia8.17%13.15%36.13%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ผ Aruba1.77%16.15%36.51%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Australia8.17%16.9%31.38%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡น Austria10.42%19.81%33.93%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Azerbaijan6.89%7.11%30.5%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ธ Bahamas4.76%8.89%29.58%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ญ Bahrain2.88%3.76%21.89%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฉ Bangladesh3.9%6.04%32.56%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ง Barbados5.24%16.28%33.19%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡พ Belarus8.24%17.18%30.45%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช Belgium11.03%19.73%32.83%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฟ Belize3.57%5.09%29.21%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฏ Benin7.85%3.06%11.03%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฒ Bermuda5.71%20.41%37.73%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡น Bhutan2.53%6.25%33.35%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ด Bolivia6.11%4.85%21.75%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ถ Bonaire Sint Eustatius and Saba14.22%13.84%28.94%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฆ Bosnia and Herzegovina3.95%18.4%36.4%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ผ Botswana4.32%3.65%17.96%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท Brazil2.39%9.88%33.52%
๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ฌ British Virgin Islands8.63%9.95%32.47%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ณ Brunei4.85%6.17%30.93%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฌ Bulgaria6.66%22.38%37.13%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ซ Burkina Faso2.01%2.53%13.07%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฎ Burundi3.22%2.48%13.23%
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ญ Cambodia2.67%5.81%26.43%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Cameroon3.47%2.67%11.89%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Canada7.7%19.03%31.55%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ป Cape Verde3.67%5.55%32.63%
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡พ Cayman Islands6.05%8.17%28.75%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ซ Central African Republic5.%2.51%11.43%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฉ Chad4.33%2.01%9.64%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Chile3.3%13.03%36.61%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China5.04%13.72%40.93%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ด Colombia3.22%9.%34.49%
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Comoros3.8%4.28%17.81%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Congo3.36%2.72%11.99%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Cook Islands2.94%11.73%29.75%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ท Costa Rica2.97%10.83%36.99%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Cote d'Ivoire2.21%2.4%10.86%
๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ท Croatia7.82%22.36%37.03%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡บ Cuba4.36%15.81%36.31%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ผ Curacao5.82%14.95%30.46%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡พ Cyprus5.95%14.83%33.36%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Czechia8.29%20.64%26.94%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Democratic Republic of Congo3.77%2.92%10.62%
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Denmark9.04%20.49%30.45%
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฏ Djibouti1.99%4.54%19.68%
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Dominica7.67%9.53%34.28%
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ด Dominican Republic2.72%7.4%30.47%
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡จ Ecuador5.2%7.83%31.97%
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฌ Egypt2.95%4.83%21.77%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ป El Salvador3.93%8.22%36.02%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ถ Equatorial Guinea5.53%3.12%15.13%
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ท Eritrea3.2%4.01%19.86%
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ช Estonia10.56%20.58%34.15%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Eswatini2.68%4.%16.26%
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡น Ethiopia3.01%3.14%18.6%
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ด Faeroe Islands7.59%17.92%26.91%
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Falkland Islands8.27%11.08%35.86%
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฏ Fiji5.99%5.9%20.6%
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Finland6.63%23.27%34.04%
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท France11.39%21.66%34.23%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ซ French Guiana7.96%5.98%21.13%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ซ French Polynesia3.%10.07%37.85%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Gabon7.21%3.89%16.25%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Gambia2.5%2.43%16.06%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ช Georgia9.35%14.61%31.19%
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช Germany9.46%22.41%33.72%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ญ Ghana4.62%3.55%15.91%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Gibraltar6.94%20.84%37.63%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ท Greece6.8%22.82%37.52%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Greenland3.06%10.02%29.16%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Grenada5.12%10.07%30.54%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ต Guadeloupe5.51%20.04%34.45%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡บ Guam1.11%11.84%31.19%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡น Guatemala2.31%4.91%28.05%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Guernsey11.96%16.64%35.4%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ณ Guinea5.39%3.32%14.%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ผ Guinea-Bissau3.45%2.82%14.34%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡พ Guyana3.89%6.28%28.94%
๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡น Haiti3.64%4.54%19.07%
๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ณ Honduras3.96%4.27%26.5%
๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Hong Kong2.48%20.47%41.64%
๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡บ Hungary7.81%20.01%31.85%
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ธ Iceland7.52%15.33%34.25%
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India3.1%6.9%29.81%
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Indonesia1.74%6.86%25.28%
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ท Iran5.22%7.62%33.72%
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ถ Iraq2.79%3.41%18.44%
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช Ireland10.99%15.14%32.48%
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Isle of Man13.9%22.29%31.8%
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Israel4.%12.04%25.97%
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Italy8.09%24.05%38.19%
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Jamaica3.83%7.45%44.05%
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan4.89%29.92%38.7%
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ช Jersey12.34%16.22%30.52%
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ด Jordan5.03%3.84%27.3%
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Kazakhstan6.47%8.04%19.58%
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ช Kenya5.28%2.87%16.98%
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Kiribati7.13%3.81%17.33%
๐Ÿ‡ฝ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Kosovo5.33%10.19%43.35%
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ผ Kuwait2.88%4.93%31.56%
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Kyrgyzstan7.91%4.54%21.08%
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Laos2.13%4.45%25.24%
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ป Latvia10.12%21.86%32.86%
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ง Lebanon7.24%9.89%32.11%
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ธ Lesotho6.34%4.2%13.44%
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ท Liberia2.97%3.31%13.88%
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡พ Libya5.21%4.86%27.77%
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Liechtenstein7.89%19.37%34.79%
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡น Lithuania8.65%20.8%32.79%
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡บ Luxembourg9.71%15.03%31.55%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ด Macao3.11%13.%32.39%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Madagascar3.25%3.35%16.21%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ผ Malawi3.06%2.61%15.61%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡พ Malaysia4.91%7.5%30.78%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ป Maldives3.14%4.78%35.61%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Mali2.78%2.38%11.%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡น Malta7.42%19.13%38.26%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ญ Marshall Islands5.68%4.56%17.8%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ถ Martinique5.85%22.77%37.31%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ท Mauritania1.44%3.22%15.03%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡บ Mauritius3.18%12.79%33.76%
๐Ÿ‡พ๐Ÿ‡น Mayotte6.61%2.88%18.15%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฝ Mexico2.99%8.32%34.88%
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Micronesia (country)4.11%6.16%27.59%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Moldova7.56%12.98%26.36%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡จ Monaco15.64%35.92%30.16%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ณ Mongolia3.87%4.61%26.18%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ช Montenegro7.85%16.55%34.16%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ธ Montserrat7.92%17.7%33.05%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Morocco2.86%7.72%29.97%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Mozambique3.13%2.57%13.43%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Myanmar3.21%6.82%23.69%
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Namibia4.1%3.97%15.38%
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ท Nauru8.98%2.5%15.87%
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ต Nepal2.74%6.09%29.51%
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Netherlands7.76%20.31%32.89%
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡จ New Caledonia5.%11.02%31.61%
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ New Zealand9.09%16.31%33.2%
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Nicaragua2.71%5.29%28.92%
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ช Niger.92%2.4%9.76%
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Nigeria3.%2.97%12.31%
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡บ Niue4.79%15.16%22.55%
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ต North Korea2.72%11.71%30.49%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฐ North Macedonia5.87%14.91%36.56%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ต Northern Mariana Islands2.95%10.81%32.09%
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ด Norway9.52%18.44%31.65%
๐Ÿ‡ด๐Ÿ‡ฒ Oman3.05%2.76%23.96%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ Pakistan5.48%4.27%17.23%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ผ Palau8.59%9.93%21.48%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ธ Palestine4.77%3.53%23.44%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฆ Panama3.57%8.77%30.03%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฌ Papua New Guinea1.09%3.19%16.81%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡พ Paraguay3.73%6.26%26.51%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ช Peru3.43%8.41%30.33%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ญ Philippines3.56%5.44%23.38%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ Poland5.22%18.55%35.69%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น Portugal7.%22.9%36.28%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ท Puerto Rico3.63%22.93%48.9%
๐Ÿ‡ถ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Qatar3.5%1.52%15.01%
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ช Reunion3.81%13.28%32.4%
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ด Romania7.16%18.64%32.22%
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ Russia4.8%15.8%27.86%
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ผ Rwanda2.76%3.2%17.36%
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฑ Saint Barthlemy7.3%10.61%43.89%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ญ Saint Helena8.63%28.66%32.61%
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ณ Saint Kitts and Nevis5.36%10.13%29.79%
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡จ Saint Lucia3.59%9.23%33.39%
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ซ Saint Martin (French part)4.47%11.14%30.08%
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฒ Saint Pierre and Miquelon6.34%17.32%33.4%
๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡จ Saint Vincent and the Grenadines7.71%10.86%32.34%
๐Ÿ‡ผ๐Ÿ‡ธ Samoa2.52%5.22%18.75%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฒ San Marino10.15%20.47%35.73%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡น Sao Tome and Principe3.92%3.76%15.6%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Saudi Arabia3.32%2.81%30.28%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ณ Senegal3.42%3.14%16.54%
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ธ Serbia6.15%20.56%37.55%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡จ Seychelles10.68%8.16%28.84%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Sierra Leone3.02%3.14%15.52%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Singapore2.29%15.12%36.51%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฝ Sint Maarten (Dutch part)12.03%10.57%34.51%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Slovakia6.63%16.98%33.4%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Slovenia7.52%20.96%33.59%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ง Solomon Islands4.03%3.47%15.29%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ด Somalia2.6%2.57%10.75%
๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ South Africa4.06%5.89%20.55%
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea2.74%17.49%44.44%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ธ South Sudan3.48%2.89%13.11%
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Spain7.23%20.27%38.72%
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Sri Lanka8.76%11.54%35.73%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Sudan3.03%3.5%13.28%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ท Suriname4.09%7.39%25.8%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช Sweden10.19%20.25%31.83%
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ Switzerland9.49%19.31%32.61%
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡พ Syria7.66%4.68%24.62%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ผ Taiwan2.11%16.71%37.32%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฏ Tajikistan4.34%3.47%19.43%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฟ Tanzania2.2%3.1%14.97%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ญ Thailand3.21%15.21%39.17%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฑ Timor3.14%5.21%25.42%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฌ Togo4.29%3.13%11.77%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฐ Tokelau4.7%8.66%25.03%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ด Tonga4.6%6.22%21.65%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡น Trinidad and Tobago3.93%11.52%32.67%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ณ Tunisia4.4%9.02%31.24%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ท Turkey3.77%8.64%33.9%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฒ Turkmenistan5.84%5.15%21.55%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡จ Turks and Caicos Islands5.79%10.34%28.25%
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ป Tuvalu4.98%6.48%16.15%
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Uganda2.87%1.69%14.33%
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Ukraine7.54%18.81%33.2%
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ช United Arab Emirates3.35%1.83%15.77%
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง United Kingdom10.84%19.17%32.56%
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ United States8.18%17.13%30.47%
๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ฎ United States Virgin Islands7.54%20.42%39.11%
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡พ Uruguay8.23%15.58%35.98%
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Uzbekistan5.87%5.14%22.24%
๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡บ Vanuatu5.65%3.74%16.29%
๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ช Venezuela2.29%8.61%27.71%
๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ณ Vietnam4.13%9.12%30.02%
๐Ÿ‡ผ๐Ÿ‡ซ Wallis and Futuna1.76%13.47%32.98%
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ญ Western Sahara2.82%5.84%23.73%
๐Ÿ‡พ๐Ÿ‡ช Yemen3.98%2.66%18.25%
๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Zambia2.76%1.75%12.66%
๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ผ Zimbabwe3.18%3.32%14.22%
๐ŸŒ World5.13%9.82%24.03%

Some of the places with high elderly shares today include high-income countries like Japan (30%), Italy (24%), and Finland (23%).

The lowest shares are concentrated in the Middle East and Africa. Many countries have just 2% of their population aged 65 years and older, such as Qatar, Uganda, and Afghanistan.

But over time, almost all countries are expected to see their older population segments grow. In just three decades, it is estimated that one-in-four European, North American, and Asian residents will be over 65 years of age.

By 2100, a variety of Asian countries and island nations facing low population growth are expected to see more than one-third of their populations aged 65 years or older, including South Korea and Jamaica at 44%. However, it’s actually Albania that’s the biggest outlier overall, with a projected 49% of its population to be aged 65 and older by 2100.

Passing the Generational Torch

The challenge of an aging population is set to impact all sectors of society, including labor and financial markets, demand for housing and transportation, and especially family structures and intergenerational ties.

One way to help grasp the nature of transition is to note the changing ratio between seniors and young children in the world population, as seen in the below crossover diagram:

Elderly population surpass that of children aged 5 and below

Dropping fertility rates, in addition to improved child and infant mortality rates, are known to have played a major role in the plateauing population of children.

However, not all countries have witnessed this crossover yet, as it usually coincides with higher levels of economic development.

As countries such as India, Brazil, and South Africa reach higher levels of per capita income, they will be likely to follow down the paths of more advanced economies, eventually experiencing similar demographic fates and challenges.

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