Elderly

The world's share of population aged 65 and over, tracked across the top 30 countries from 1960.

Japan's climb stands out: 5.74% in 1960, ranking 26th of 30, against 29.78% in 2024 — a gain of 24.04 percentage points, the largest in the table. But Hong Kong grew 8.30 times over the same period and Puerto Rico moved from 28th to 3rd, so Japan is not alone in the speed of its ageing. Meanwhile the 1960 leaders in Europe now sit at the bottom, having risen only gently since.