5 Best Countries To Spend Your Old Age

Do you know which is the best country to grow old in? The world is ageing fast and the number of elderly people is growing every year. However, there are big differences among individual countries when it comes to growing old. HelpAge International, an international non-governmental organization that helps older people claim their rights, challenge discrimination, and overcome poverty; developed the Global AgeWatch Index.

This index compares the quality of life of older citizens in different countries all over the world. The Index is also a tool to measure progress and aims to improve the impact of policy and practice on ageing populations. Based on four main domains (income security, health status, capability and enabling environment), the Index is used to create an annual ranking of the best and worst countries to grow old in. To find out what countries are the most elderly-friendly, check out this post with 5 Best Countries To Grow Old In.

* Spain

Home to more than 46 million people (out of which 11.3 million are over 60), Spain ranks high in the health domain (particularly in life expectancy at 60, healthy life expectancy at 60 and relative psychological well-being). It also ranks high in the enabling environment domain as most of elderly Spaniards are satisfied with their safety and public transport.

* Switzerland

Home to 8.4 million people (2 million over 60), Switzerland is renowned for a number of things including government transparency, civil liberties, quality of life, clean environment, economic competitiveness, human development etc. Consequently, this little Alpine country regularly ranks as the best place to live and it is not surprising to see it at the top of this ranking either.

* Norway

Another North European country that regularly ranks among the best places to live, Norway has a population of 5.3 million out of which 1.1 million are over 60. It scores well above average across all domains but it particularly stands out in the capability domain as it boasts a very high employment rate (71.1%) and educational attainment (98.3%) among older people.

* Germany

The most populous EU country, Germany is home to 82.2 million people, out of which 22.3 million are over 60. The fourth best country to grow old in, Germany performs best in the capability domain with impressive values in the employment rate among older people (63.5%) and educational attainment (96.4%). It also ranks high in the enabling environment domain and health domain.

* Canada

Canada has a population of 36.5 million including 8 million of people over 60. Boasting one of the cleanest environments on Earth, Canada performs best in the health domain and is above the regional average on all health indicators. In fact, the only thing Canadian elderly do not seem to be satisfied with is the public transport.