林錦新聞報報 8：台灣又得第一名了～人口變老最快速！

林錦國王英文
2023年1月4日
讀畢需時 2 分鐘

已更新：2024年7月31日

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Taiwan No.1 – To Become a Super-aged Society

It is expected that Taiwan will by 2025 be a super-aged society, which only takes Taiwan seven years. Based on research, it took Germany 75 years to progress from being an aging society to a super-aged society, while it took France 154 years. Canada would undergo the development within 79 years, the US would take 92 years, the UK 97 years and Norway 142 years. Even in Japan, which has the world’s highest proportion of people aged 65 or older,

it took 24 years to shift from an aging society to an aged society, and another 11 years to become a super-aged society.

Council data show that it took Taiwan only 25 years to move from being an “aging society” in 1993, with 7 percent of the population aged 65 or older, to an “aged society” in 2018, when more than 14 percent were 65 or older. However, when 20 percent of the population is aged 65 or older by 2025, the demographic structure of Taiwan will be changing remarkably fast. Taiwan’s aging population and declining birthrate have become serious concerns for the nation. An increase in the proportion of elderly people would burden the healthcare system, while the falling share of working-age people may certainly jeopardize Taiwan’s productivity and economic development.

With the development being so fast in Taiwan, there is little time for the government to adapt, and its planning and implementation of policies to address the problem should and must be adequate. Not only should the pensions be raised or more budget for long-term care and other welfare programs be allocated but Taiwan can create opportunities for senior citizens or develop their potential. It is key to facilitate older people’s participation in lifelong learning to help them embrace new technology, improve their ability for social adjustment, and enable

them to contribute to the society and the economy. Due to their experience, knowledge and skills, senior citizens can play an important role in economic development, making key contributions to society. This would not only delay the pace of population aging and improve quality of life, but it would also enable Taiwan to make better use of medical resources and leverage the positive contributions of older people.

Adopted: https://www.taipeitimes.com