Population ageing normally refers to an increase in the proportion of population aged 60 (or 65) years. Although ageing is defined in terms of specific age, the underlying concern is the functional state of senior individuals rather than their chronological age. The issue is rather concerned with the old-age disabilities and that one's condition as aged depends on personal health, sex, employment, and socio-economic status. This it is important to recognise that studies of elderly or aged population are concerned with the status of ageing and not the specific age. The specific age cut-offs commonly used in literature to assess the state of the elderly are statistical convenience.
Population ageing is becoming a worldwide phenomenon and contrary to popular belief, ageing is not just confined to countries such as Europe, North America, the former USSR, Japan, Australia and New Zealand which are classified as 'developed' by standard classification. The proportion of population over 65 in Uruguay, Argentina, Cuba, Grenada and Macau clearly shows this. In the 1980s, the growth rate of aged population was 2.4 percent per annum in the world and is much higher than the overall growth rate of population (1.7percent).
Ageing is an emerging issue in Nepal. Its tempo is expected to be unexpectedly fast, as mortality continues to decline and life expectancy continues to increase. A small increase in the size of aged population however, brings an added hardship to the already troubled economy at the macro-level let alone the quality of life for the aged. So far there has been a dearth of literature that deals with the elderly population in Nepal.
