Shada islam’s column in today’s Dawn(31st july) brings to the fore a strange problem that the eurpoean world is faced with. It is known as the problem of ageing. It refers to the phenomenon which is the result of increasing life expectancy of the population at large. Due to advancement in health sciences and improvement in medical treatment, diseases that were once fatal are now being cured thus leading to the increased life span. Besides the standards of living, the standards of dying have also risen incredibly. However, the flip side to this is that number of the old people continues to rise and their ranks swell while the birth-rate in Europe continues to fall. This ever grey-ing population burdens the country’s budget and financial resources with its increased needs of health care, frequent medical attention and the pension fees. Besides, labour shortages slow down the economic growth and national output. Because people are living longer, the state has to take care of them for longer time thus adding increased burden on the exchequer. Shada quotes EU social affairs commissioner Laszlo Andor as saying, “The number of retired people in Europe compared to those financing their pensions is forecast to double by 2060- the current situation is simply not sustainable”
While Pakistan continues to grapple with the population explosion and its concomitant problems of providing basic amenities to all the citizens and turning the population from a liability into an asset as majority of the population of Pakistan is young, Europe mulls over how to increase its population and how to deal with its older generation whose number rises steadily.
I wish we could swap our problems.
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