In the future, there will be a higher proportion of older people than young people in many countries. Is it a positive or negative development?

It is observed that the ratio of older to younger
people
will grow in the coming decades across most nations.
This
essay will explain why
this
is ultimately a negative development for society in the long term.
Firstly
, having a greater proportion of elderly
people
can put a strain on the state budget. The government may have to increase its expenditure on the healthcare system since senior citizens are more prone to serious and often costly ailments
such
as heart disease and strokes than younger
people
.
However
, since there are other important sectors that the government has to allocate funding to
such
as infrastructure, education and defence, spending more to support the elderly may eventually leave little financial resources for those mentioned fields.
This
could adversely impact the meaningful progress being made in said fields and by extension detrimentally affect the socioeconomic development of a country.
Secondly
, the growth in the number of elderly
people
will damage the national workforce. Since they are not as physically or mentally strong as younger
people
, most old
people
can no longer work to contribute to securing their country’s economic growth.
Consequently
, with an inadequate number of younger
people
to replace the ageing population in terms of employment, a shrinking workforce can impede economic growth which in turn can halt meaningful strides towards better standards of living.
This
is evident in the case of blue-collar jobs, as workers who are much older cannot work as effectively as younger ones since they lack the strength to tackle hard labour.
Hence
, they are more likely to be laid off which will practically diminish the national workforce in
this
area. In conclusion, the expanding number of older
people
in comparison to younger
people
is decidedly a negative development since it will place a massive burden on the state budget and reduce the productivity of the labour force.
Submitted by phn.anh87 on

Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Writing9 with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Your opinion

Don’t put your opinion unless you are asked to give it.

If the question asks what you think, you MUST give your opinion to get a good score.

Don’t leave your opinion until the conclusion.

Here are examples of instructions that require you to give your opinion:

...do you agree or disagree?...do you think...?...your opinion...?

Discover more tips in The Ultimate Guide to Get a Target Band Score of 7+ »— a book that's free for 🚀 Premium users.

Essentional vocabulary list for IELTS Writing 7+

Learn how to write high-scoring essays with powerful words.
Download Free PDF and start improving you writing skills today!
What to do next:
Look at other essays: