CRSA, a premier developer, manager and marketer of senior living communities in the United States recently announced an agreement with Guangdong Oursjia Retirement Communities Services Company, Ltd. of the People’s Republic of China (Oursjia) to develop and manage senior living communities across China.

By 2020, the percentage of the Chinese population over the age of 65 is estimated to be at 12% (U.S. rate of 13%) and at 24% by 2050 (U.S. 20%). That means 350 million people – more than the total population of the United States in 2011 – will be over the age of 65 by 2050.

How does the senior population in America compare to China?

The elderly population increased eleven fold between 1900 and 1994; the nonelderly increased only threefold. In this century, the rate of growth of the elderly population (persons 65 years old and over) has greatly exceeded the growth rate of the population of the country as a whole. The elderly increased by a factor of 11, from 3 million in 1900 to 33 million in 1994. Under the Census Bureau’s middle series projections, the number of persons 65 years old and over would more than double by the middle of the next century to 80 million. About 1 in 8 Americans were elderly in 1994, but about 1 in 5 would be elderly by the year 2030.

The oldest old is the fastest growing segment of the elderly population. The oldest old (persons 85 years old and over) are a small but rapidly growing group, comprising just over 1 percent of the American population in 1994. This population comprised 3.5 million persons in 1994, 28 times larger than in 1900. From 1960 to 1994, this group increased 274 percent, compared with an increase of 100 percent for persons 65 years old and over.
As age increases, the sex ratio decreases. Perhaps no feature of the oldest old is as striking as their sex ratio (the number of males per 100 females), which was 39 in 1994 (982,000 males and 2.5 million females). The sex ratio in the United States was 44 for persons 85 to 89 years old, and only 26 for persons 95 to 99 years old. In comparison, the sex ratio was 82 for persons 65 to 69 years old. 1
Overall, the oldest old are projected to be the fastest growing part of the elderly population into the next century. With baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) quickly becoming part of the senior community (age 65) our senior population is growing faster than we could have ever imagined. Are we ready for this influx of seniors, including ourselves, and all the areas of concern that accompany this inevitable lifestyle? Well you better get ready…the alternative is not pleasant so instead of looking at getting older as WHAT NOW, let’s view senior living as an opportunity to be EXPERTS AT LIFE…YET STILL LEARNING!

1 U.S. Bureau of the Census, Jennifer Cheeseman Day, Population Projections of the United States, by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1993 to 2050, Current Population Reports, P25-1104, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1993

Those are my thoughts. What are yours? Comment below!

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