India to Outdo China in Centenarian Race: UN Study

Bangalore: India habitats a great number of centenarians’ and will increase in years to come as per UN report on ageing. There are reasons to believe India will beat China (which is the most populated nation), when it comes to the number of centenarians ‘that is people aged 100 and above.’ The report presented by United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Help Age International together, has provided this information in their report on “ageing in the 21^st century.”

The report said “Ageing is a triumph of development. Increasing longevity is one of humanity’s greatest achievements. People live longer because of improved nutrition, sanitation, medical advances, health care, education and economic well-being. Life expectancy at birth is over 80 now in 33 countries; just five years ago, only 19 countries had reached this. Many of those reading this report will live into their 80s, 90s, and even 100s. At present, only Japan has an older population of more than 30 percent.”

As for India it is a reason for celebration and a bit concern. Here we promote the idea of living with our family with all generations, under the same roof. However there can be the down side in certain case. India homes between 10,000 to 20,000 centenarians at present. And this number will shoot to anywhere between 1.5lakhs to 6.2lakhs. The escalation in the number of the aged members does call for more planning and better retirement plans in the country. Also the need for more care centers for the ones who require looking after.