ABSTRACT
Life expectancy has risen in all countries around the world and is expected to continue to increase everywhere in the medium to long run. Not only individuals are ageing, so are populations worldwide. The shift toward older populations is the consequence of a globally expanding demographic transition that began in countries with higher income and extended to countries with lower income. As the world is ageing, ageing interacts with other megatrends, including chronic manifestations of health conditions, the aspiration to achieve universal health coverage, the occurrence of pandemics, or changes in climate, migration, family structures and digitalization. The first part of this chapter describes global developments in population ageing, individual ageing, and individual health based on data from the World Population Prospects and the Global Burden of Disease Study. The second part of the chapter discusses connections between ageing and other megatrends. The chapter ends with an outlook on the opportunities and challenges for an ageing world.
