It is expected that there will be a higher proportion of older people than that of young people in many countries in the future? Do you think it is a positive or negative development?

The increase in average life expectancy, paired with lower fertility rates, has contributed to the aging

population

. In several ways, society may benefit from a growing proportion of senior citizens.

However

, I believe the rest of the world

population

would have to shoulder much more responsibilities and the global economy would face a serious

labour

crisis. On the positive side, an increase in the number of old people means a great deal of volunteers for community and government projects. Compared with young people, retirees are more financially comfortable and

therefore

are more willing to contribute free

labour

for the sake of the development of the whole society.

For example

, there are groups of elderly people established to offer free education for underprivileged children or to provide shelter and food for the homeless and the impoverished in their neighbourhoods.

In addition

, the elderly are familiar with traditional culture and way of life. They,

hence

, hold moral values to pass on the young generation, playing the key role in preservation of cultural identity, which is fading in the era of globalization.

Nevertheless

, old people over the age of 65 are mostly unable to keep contributing to their countries’ economic development due to their health problems;

therefore

, they have to live with their children or social welfare under the form of pension.

Also

, the elderly have greater demand for health care services.

As a result

, the taxpayers will not only have to pay for the increased retirement pensions and health care costs but

also

bear a greater financial burden and work harder.

Secondly

, aging

population

can

also

mean the shrinking number of young workforce and

labour

shortage. Lack of

labour

workforce would cause stagnation for the growth of businesses and the global economy as a whole. Japan,

for example

, one of the developed countries confronts

this

problem is already experiencing these impacts. In conclusion, while the increasing percentage of aging

population

has several positive impacts, I believe the drawbacks of

this

trend are much greater.