Demographic Profile and Present Situation of Elderly Women in South Asian Countries

Abstract

Globally, life expectancy at birth increased from around 47 years in the 1950s to 67 in 2008, an increase of 20 years in the space of half a century. The gain has been impressive among less developed regions, i.e. 24 years compared to 10 in developed regions (UN, 2007). South Asia has the world s largest concentration of people living below the poverty line. Poor delivery of key public services is of particular concern, ranging from health and education to legal services and road maintenance. International Year of Older Persons in 1999 and the 2002 Madrid World Assembly on Ageing describes current situation of population ageing, its causes and consequences and implications at the policy. Almost all the 15 countries reviewed have put in place an institutional structure for dealing with issues relating to older people and framed some relevant policies, plans or laws. The present paper will highlight the situation of elderly women with special demographic characteristics and how the cultural and geographical background affects the situation of elderly women. The present paper is a review paper aimed at describing the situation of elderly women influenced by socio cultural characteristics of south Asian countries.