Where Data Tells the Story
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The grey reckoning
Europe is ageing fastest. Japan leads all major economies with nearly 30% of its population aged 65 or above, while Italy, Portugal, and Greece are not far behind. In parts of Eastern Europe, the picture is equally stark. Bosnia and Serbia, middle-income economies with limited fiscal room, face demographic pressures typically associated with wealthy nations.
Elsewhere, the story diverges sharply. Sub-Saharan Africa remains young: Zambia's senior share sits at just 2%, Nigeria's at 3.1%. Qatar's 1.7% reflects an economy built on imported working-age labour, not a genuinely young population.
The consequences fall hardest where the ratio of workers to retirees is tightest. Pension systems in Japan, South Korea, and much of Southern Europe were designed for demographic conditions that no longer exist. China, at 14.7%, and Thailand, at 15.4%, are ageing rapidly before they have fully grown rich; leaving little time to build the social infrastructure that Europe took decades to construct.