The Looming Retirement Crisis

An aging population represents a major challenge for many countries around the world. Falling birth rates coupled with rising life expectancies are likely to place significant pressure on labor markets, healthcare and pension systems. OECD data reveals how a number of countries are facing particularly rapid aging. Where the number of retirees for every 100 workers already stood at more than 55 in Japan and 41 in Italy in 2022, projections say this could hit 81 and 74 by 2050.

The challenges posed by such demographic changes will affect a growing number of countries in the coming decades, including China and the United States, whose populations currently remain younger than those of the other nations on this chart. China as well as South Korea are the two nation's suspected to make the fastest transitions to an aging society. While China is suffering from the legacy of the one-child policy that did not foresee demographic change in China happening as quickly and drastically, South Korea is experiencing one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, partially explained by economic challenges for the younger generation in a society that remains traditionally stratified and especially hard to navigate for women.