Brazil, an ageing society

The South American giant is progressing its demographic mutation towards the ageing observed in European countries, where 21% of its inhabitants are over 65 years old. Over 12 years, the number of elderly people has gone from 14 million to 22 million inhabitants. In about 20 years, the population will be old.

Osvaldo Cardosa

This change has been drastic given that the previous figure was even higher in 1980: 4% of citizens were 65 years old or older. Today, the total number of young people up to 14 years old has reduced by 5.8 million individuals. In the last census, they amounted to 24.1% of the population.

This is why it is said that Brazil is older. It features in the category of countries with moderate old age, where fertility and mortality rates are dropping sharply. Currently an important proportion of young people remains, but the sector of older people is increasing. Figures from the 2022 Census revealed that the quantity of long-lived people aged 65 or older reached the 10.9% mark, meanwhile the amount of children and young people, up to 14 years old, plummeted to 19.8%.

“The advancing age of the population in Brazil characterises the current and significant demographic transition, and there are two main reasons”, says Professor Marcio Pochmann, president of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE).

He explains that “the drop in women’s fertility rate increases the dependency ratio of the total elderly population (60 years old or over) in relation to the group of children and teenagers (under 14)”.

On the other hand, he adds, “the rise in the average Brazilian life expectancy is resulting in a drop in mortality rate, indicating how much longer the population is living”.

In the case of the slump in fertility, IBGE statistics attribute it to greater education of women. Since the 1960s, access to schooling has expanded with the widespread increase in university education. Moreover, the spread of contraceptive methods, such as the pill, took place, and women began to postpone motherhood.

Fertility rates went from 6.28 children per woman in 1960, to 1.9 in 2010, and 1.76 in 2021. In 50 years, the rate fell by 70%, according to the institute.

Ageing and effects

Among the main economic consequences of the ageing population are changes to the job market (reduced growth or even a decrease in the supply of workers) and its impact on economic growth.

An ageing society points to a true gerontocracy, in a social destructuring, a landslide in productivity and progress rates, which raises doubts in terms of the sustainability of development.

Ageing brings problems such as the possibility of a lack of young people in the job market, which actually increases labour costs, generating economic problems and the rise in the costs of social security and health expenses.

Ageing assumes a boost to the care economy and quality of life, especially for those who reach 60 years of age and become senior citizens.

Old age is a general phenomenon in the Brazilian population, although marked by immense inequalities.

“White people live longer and better than those who are not white. Also, life expectancy for women is higher than that of men,” he acknowledges, adding: “Women have XX chromosomes with more genes to prolong life more than men do. In general, the quality of life and the incidence of violent deaths contribute to explaining why men tend to have a shorter lifespan than women.”

Public employment policies for elderly people can mitigate the negative effects of ageing on the labour market and allow the continuation and reintegration of old people into the Brazilian labour market.

Some specialists advocate, among other initiatives, for having greater family planning, higher investments in pension services, better social assistance policies and help for the senior citizens. Likewise, including citizens of an advanced age in the adapted labour market, generating income for the elderly and establish a suitable disease prevention policy.