ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the importance of aging and the reasons behind the aging process globally. It focuses on the study of the causes and effects of aging in a number of regions in the world. The chapter also focuses on the world's largest economic entity and one of the regions worst affected by aging, the European Union (EU). It examines the situation in what is currently the most aged country in the world, Japan. The chapter analyses the world's single largest national economy, the USA, and the four BRIC economies, Brazil, Russia, India and China. It synthesizes some themes that emerge from this analysis and concludes by pointing out the geoeconomic implications of our findings for governments and societies. There are three major drivers of aging that together are driving the trend toward aging worldwide. These are declining fertility, increased longevity, and falls in mortality rates came before falls in fertility.
