By 2050, the number of adults older than 65 could grow to 1.6 billion, nearly double the current over-65 population of 617.1 million, according to a new report commissioned by the National Institutes of Health.
The bulk of the elderly population boom will take place in Asia, but some countries around the world will see their elderly populations quadruple in the next 35 years. However, younger populations are expected to remain nearly static in number, and the authors of report predict that 2050 will be the first time that people over the age of 65 outnumber children under the age of five.
This "crossing" is unprecedented, the authors wrote, and will begin to take place in 2020.
NIH report outlines mid-21st century elderly population boom