Ageing badly: indicators of old-age structure in Australia and New Zealand
Yoram Barak 1 2 , Shona Neehoff 1 , Paul Glue 1
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
1 Department of Psychological Medicine, Dunedin School of Medicine, Otago University Dunedin, New Zealand
2 Corresponding author. Email: yoram.barak@otago.ac.nz
Journal of Primary Health Care 12(3) 272-276 https://doi.org/10.1071/HC19095
Published: 3 August 2020
Journal Compilation © Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners 2020 This is an open access article licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Until 2050, Australia and New Zealand will experience continuing increase in the population aged >65 years. Studying differences in indicators of old-age structure between these countries can inform policymakers.
AIM: To calculate and analyse indicators of old-age structure for Australia and New Zealand.
METHODS: Five indicators of old-age structure were calculated: centenarian ratio (number of centenarians per 100,000 people), longevity index (proportion of people aged ≥90 and ≥65 years in the population), longevity level (proportion of 80+/60+ years population), ageing tendency (proportion of people aged ≥60 years in the population) and centenarity index (ratio between the centenarians and the total population ≥90 years).
RESULTS: All indicators of old-age structure demonstrated an advantageous ageing structure in Australia compared with New Zealand. In addition, the New Zealand Māori and Australian Aboriginal indicators of old-age structure demonstrated a significant disadvantage to these ethnic groups compared with the general population.
DISCUSSION: Public health policy needs to target ageing in New Zealand as a major goal in advancing the ‘Ageing Well’ policy advocated by the government.
KEYwords: Indicators of old-age structure; Māori; Aboriginal; centenarians
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