Population-ageing: demographic differences in South American countries

Abstract

This article analyzes population aging in twelve countries in South America, with the aim of finding out about the life expectancy of elderly people over 65 and discussing the consequences of lack of attention to the quality of life of this population, based on data demographic from the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean – ECLAC, with an emphasis on the 1990s and 2015, which were illustrated with tables, graphics, age pyramids and maps for a better analysis and visualization. Questions such as: How many are the elderly? Where are they concentrated in South America? What is the relationship between Fertility Rate and ageing? How do the age range of youth and adults relate to the top of the pyramid? They questions were answered through the variables represented by percentages: % of people over 65 years old, % of young people aged 0 to 14 years old, % of adults aged 15 to 64 years old, Fertility Rate, Life expectancy at birth and Aging Index. In addition, a brief theoretical review on the subject was produced. The countries with the best Life Expectancy at Birth are Chile, Uruguay and Argentina. These are also the countries that have higher percentage of elderly, though not in the same order mentioned. The shorter Fertility Rates were shown in Chile and Brazil, and Chile is the country with the highest Ageing Index. Bolivia and Guiana have the shortest Life Expectancy Rate. Nonetheless, Bolivia was the country where Life Expectancy most rose in 25 years (1990-2015), ranging from 56.5 to 67.8 years.