The line graph illustrates compares the demographic data on senior citizens aged 65 years and over from 1940 to 2016, with predictions up to 2040 in three countries.
Overall, it is clear that the elderly’s population rate in all three countries showed an upward trend until 2016 and is expected to rise considerably by 2040. Notably, Japan is predicted to experience the most dramatic soar, while its two counterparts are estimated to rise at a more steady pace.
In 1940, the USA was the top-ranking nation in the elderly demographic, with approximately 9 percent (%), followed by Sweden and Japan with around 7% and 5%, respectively.
The first 40 years witnessed a relatively similar increase, with just over 15% seen in the USA and 14% found in Sweden before these figures fell to just under 15% and 13%, subsequently. However, these figures saw a contrast pattern over the next two decades. After surpassing each other at about 14%, the aging population in the USA fell slightly and levelled out at 14%, as opposed to a sharp increase to nearly 20% in Sweden until 2016. Despite an estimated decline to 18% in 2025, the population rate of the over-65s in Sweden is forecasted to peak at roughly 25% by 2040. Similarly, this rate in the USA is projected to climb up to about 23% by the end of the period, remaining the lowest position. There was a slight decrease in the population of the older generation in Japan, hovering at merely 3% throughout the first 20-year gap and levelling out at this figure until it recovered to its initial level by 2000. In the future, Japan’s aging population is forecasted to surge to nearly 27%, positioning it as the country with the largest older generation in 2040, despite starting from the lowest level.