Population ageing in the Caribbean: longevity and quality of life

The present report is divided into an introduction, three sections and a summary of the main findings along with recommendations for further action. The first section provides an overview of United Nations global initiatives on population ageing. The second chapter presents a brief analysis of the major socio-economic trends in the region, providing insight into the possibilities and limitations for governments in the Caribbean to allocate resources to social policies and programmes for the elderly. Health and well-being of the elderly will be addressed in the following chapter. The first part is devoted to major health hazards threatening major achievements in quality of life of the older generation. The chapter continues with a discussion of life expectancy and healthy life expectancy before briefly elaborating the

issue of abuse of the elderly and violence against older people. Ageing does not only impact on those who grow old and live longer, but it also has tremendous consequences for present and future generations to come. In order to assess the impact of these demographic changes on intergenerational relationships, the fourth chapter looks at two demographic concepts, the potential support ratio and the parent support ratio. This part also discusses the impact of migration on intergenerational relationships and discusses gender specific aspects of the same. The final section summarizes the major findings of the study and provides a set of conclusions and recommendations for interested governments, civil society and academia.