The problems and challenges of the aging population of malaysia.

At present, the number of Malaysians aged 60 years and above is estimated to be 1.4 million and is projected to increase to 3.3 million in the year 2020. The percentage of the population that is 60 years and over has also increased over the years 5.2% in 1970, 5.7% in 1990 and 6.3% in the year 2000. In the year 2020, this percentage is expected to be 9.8% of the population. Between 1990 and 2020, the population of Malaysia is expected to increase from 18.4 million to 33.3 million an increase of 80%. The aged population however is expected to increase from 1.05 million in 1990 to 3.26 million over the same period, an increase of 210%. Apart from an increase in the aged population, the aged are also living longer as evidenced by an increase in life expectancy. As women tend to live longer than men, the disproportion between males and females therefore also increases with ageing. The sex ratio of men per 100 women will decrease from 90.1 in 1990 to 85.8 in 2020. The other feature on the demographic changes that is expected to occur in the aged population is in relation to urbanisation. The percentage of population in urban areas has increased from 24.5% in 1957 to 50.8% in 1990. Thus it is also expected that the proportion of the aged population be higher in the urban than the rural area and this change in the demographic pattern of the aged population will also influence the distribution of health care resources. The elderlies are less healthy than the youngs, hence an increase in the proportion of the aged group is associated with an increase in the prevalence of ill health. The physical and social changes associated with ageing are combined with the debilitating effects of multiple, acute and chronic diseases. Fraility is often compounded by problems such as THE PROBLEMS AND CHALLENGES OF THE AGING POPULATION OF MALAYSIA