The line graph compares the percentage of people aged 60 or more in three countries over a period of 100 years.
It is clear that the proportion of elderly people increases in each country between 1950 and 2050. Korea is expected to see the most dramatic changes in its elderly population.
In 1950, around 9% of Americans were aged 60 or over, compared to about 7% of Spanish people and 5% of Korean people. The proportions of elderly people in the USA and Spain rose gradually over the next 50 years, reaching just around 15% in 1990. By contrast, the figures for Korean remained below 5% until after the decade in 2000.
Looking into the future, a sudden increase in the percentage of elderly people is predicted for Korea, with a jump of over 15% in just 20 years from 2030 to 2050. By 2050, it is thought that around 22% of the Korean population will be 60 years old or more, while the figures for Spanish and the USA will be slightly lower, at about 20% and 18% respectively.
