Aging of population with trends in social development taken into account

¹ Charles University, Department of Legal History, nam. Curieovych 901/7, 116 40 Prague, Czech republic
² Charles University, Department of Psychosocial Sciences and Ethics, Pacovska 4, 140 21 Prague, Czech republic

^* Corresponding author: monika.nova@htf.cuni.cz

Abstract

Research background: The issue of population aging, recently discussed across the entire society, has greatly affected all generations of the society. The aging is a long-term and natural process that governments should be ready to accommodate if they want to keep the demographic situation stable despite the increasing fertility and decreasing mortality of inhabitants.

Purpose of the article: The resultant changes in population can be attributed primarily to better healthcare, to social and economic development and to new patterns of reproductive behavior. Developing countries have lately been experiencing a more rapid pace of population aging than the developed ones, where the process has had much longer history (United Nations, 2019).

Methods: The paper aims to present newly found facts, to offer their wider context and, with the benefit of practical experience, to analyze, evaluate, argue and interpret the dynamics of population aging, while identifying its causes and effects. To accomplish the aim, the author has defined these milestones: searching and discussing relevant literature; characterizing major causes of population aging; defining indicators useful for measuring the process of aging; applying chosen demographic indicators to analyze trends in population aging; interpreting what can be considered “active” aging; and appraising the positive and negative aspects of population aging.

Findings & Value added: The SWOT analysis, relying on information obtained from the current Internet and literary sources, has assessed the strengths and weaknesses of population aging together with the process´s opportunities and threats. The research method was chosen so that the found facts could be synthesized and abstracted. The text is based on statistical data and demographic prognoses of population aging, specifically on the World Population Prospect database administered by the United Nations.