10 Best Countries to Grow Old

Aging is a natural part of life and as life-expectancy increases, we all have a vested interest in what life will look like as we get older in Canada and in other countries around the world. I have previously explored a variety of global rankings in posts like the best country to live, the smartest countries, the happiest countries, the  most peaceful countries, the friendliest countries, the most charitable countries, the best countries for quality of life, the best countries for business, the top countries for life expectancy, the best countries for working women, the best country for child well-being, the best countries for higher education, the most popular countries, the least corrupt countries, the countries with the best reputation, the best countries for ease of doing business, the best countries for starting a business, the best country for business, the best country for customer satisfaction, the best countries with the most competitive economies, the best countries for entrepreneurship, the most sustainable countries, the best countries to grow old, the best country brand, the best countries for business, the most sustainable countries, the most charitable countries, the most prosperous countries, the countries with the highest minimum wage, the safest countries, the best countries with the highest average salary, the best countries for social progress, the best countries for working women, the best countries for mothers, the best countries for average life expectancy at birth, the most popular countries, the most gay friendly countries in the world, the most peaceful countries, the best countries for giving back, the best countries for global professionals on the move, the most tax competitive countries, the most innovative countries and the happiest countries. Today I’m adding the 10 best countries to grow old according to the Global AgeWatch Index published by HelpAge International, an organization that “helps older people claim their rights, challenge discrimination and overcome poverty, so that they can lead dignified, secure, active and healthy lives.”

The Global AgeWatch Index included 96 countries in the study and assessed them on 4 key categories: income security, health status, capability and enabling environment. Those categories were further broken down into 13 sub-categories: pension income coverage, poverty rate in old age, relative welfare of older people, GDP per capita, life expectancy at 60, healthy life expectancy at 60, psychological well-being, employment of older people, educational status of older people, social connections, physical safety, civic freedom and access to public transport. These categories help to give a detailed picture of what life in each country is like for the aging population and based on these findings, the 10 best countries to grow old are:

1. Norway – Overall score: 93.4
2. Sweden – Overall score: 88.3
3. Switzerland – Overall score: 87.9
4. Canada – Overall score: 87.5
5. Germany – Overall score: 86.3
6. Netherlands – Overall score: 86.0
7. Iceland – Overall score: 85.3
8. United States – Overall score: 83.5
9. Japan – Overall score: 82.6
10. New Zealand – Overall score: 80.7

In reference to Canada, the Index indicated that there were “noticeable anomalies between countries [in the top 10], such as the widely different health status of older people in the USA (ranked 8 overall but 25 in the health domain) compared with its neighbour Canada (ranked 4 overall and 4 in the health domain). As well as longer life expectancy at 60 in Canada, a significantly higher level of public expenditure on healthcare may be factors contributing to Canada’s higher ranking in the health domain.”

As an ever-growing percentage of the population ages, the well being of older people is becoming more and more important. It is encouraging to see how well Canada is doing in this sector and I hope to see more attention and consideration paid to caring for our aging population.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Miratel Solutions is a Toronto call centre, eBusiness, and letter shop mail house specializing in professional fundraising services including inbound telephone fundraising, outbound telephone fundraising, online fundraising, lottery fundraising services, donation processing and receipting and direct mail fundraising services. We are committed to our CSR business values in all our business decisions  and advancing the missions of the nonprofits we proudly serve.