Rating of countries by age of population. Age and sex structure of the world population The age composition of the population refers to

The age structure of the population is the distribution of people by age groups and contingents for the purpose of studying demographic and socio-economic processes.

This approach helps to form well-founded assumptions regarding future trends in mortality, fertility and other important processes occurring on Earth. It even allows you to predict the demand for services and goods. What is the essence of this approach and what are its features? This is what we will talk about now.

Distribution principle

To begin with, it is important to stipulate that the concept of an age group is often identified with a term such as “generation”. It is not right. A group is just a collection of people united by the same age. But a generation includes citizens who were born in a certain period.

In the age structure of the population, the composition of the population is usually considered in ten-year, five-year, and one-year groups. The lower border is marked, which is logical, but the upper border remains open. Usually they simply indicate “Over 75.”

Division by ability to work

In Russia this is what is most often used. The population is divided into age groups based on their ability to work. It looks like this:

From 0 to 15 years. Citizens who are not of working age due to their youth.
Men from 16 to 59 years old and women from 16 to 54 inclusive. People of working age.
Men and women are over 60 and 55 years old, respectively. Retirement age exceeding working age.

This is a conditional gradation. It is used to determine the level of the economically active population. And here it is necessary to note an important nuance. And we are, of course, talking about raising the retirement age.

The need to increase this figure has been discussed for a long time. This is justified by the fact that many citizens simply do not have enough experience to receive decent payments.

The changes already took place a year ago, on January 1, 2017. Not much, but only for six months. Now men can retire at sixty and a half, and women at fifty-five and a half.

The age is planned to increase annually. If we believe the forecasts, then in 8-12 years in our country men will retire at 65. And women are 63 years old. And this change is difficult to characterize as positive. After all, now in order to receive payments a person must have at least 20 years of experience in a particular field. And before, before 2017, there were 15.

Also, experts do not believe that these reforms will help the country get out of the economic crisis. The percentage of working people aged 45 to 65 will increase sharply, and young citizens, on the contrary, will no longer find employment in budgetary structures. They will try their luck either in other countries or organize their own business. And they will have nowhere to earn seniority, since all the places will be occupied by people who could go on a well-deserved rest.

And these conclusions, by the way, are made taking into account the notorious age structure of the population. That is why it was decided to increase the pension threshold gradually. A sharp jump will not lead to anything good.

Measurement and classifications

When talking about the sex and age structure of the population, it is necessary to make a reservation that certain classifications are used for its research. The oldest is considered to be Chinese, and it looks like this:

Up to 20 years old. Period of youth.
From 20 to 30. The age when people enter the tank.
From 30 to 40. The period during which citizens actively perform public duties.
From 40 to 50. The time when people recognize their own delusions.
From 50 to 60. It is believed that this is the last creative period.
From 60 to 70. Retirement is called the desired age.
From 70 and above. Old age.

There is also Zumberg's classification, which is more condensed. There are only three stages: children (from 0 to 14), parents (from 15 to 49), and grandparents (from 50 and older).

It is important to note that the gender and age structure of the population differs in developed countries and in not particularly productive ones. In successful countries, the percentage of older people is much higher. But there are more children in developing countries.

The ratio of the total number of pensioners and very young members of society to working-age citizens is called the demographic load. It comes in two types. One is called “gray” (the ratio of the retired population to the working population), and the second is “green” (the ratio of children to workers).

Demographic changes

They are constantly observed in the age structure of the population. Recently, the birth rate has been decreasing, but the average life expectancy is increasing. This cannot be called a demographic crisis. The proportion of the population of older ages is simply increasing. This phenomenon was given its name - demographic aging.

Of course, there were prerequisites. This phenomenon was the result of long-term demographic changes. These include, mainly, shifts in the nature of mortality, fertility, population reproduction, and also migration.

You can refer to UN statistics. In 2000, the world population aged 60 years and above was approximately 600,000,000. And this figure is three times higher than that observed in 1950. Over time, by 2009, it had grown to 737,000,000 people. Moreover, experts, having studied in detail the factors of the age structure of the world's population, came to the conclusion that in 2050 the proportion of elderly people will exceed the 2 billion mark.

Which country is “leading” in this indicator? An age structure with a high proportion of elderly people is observed in Japan. At the time of 2009, the total number of residents of this country accounted for 29.7% of those over 60. The smallest figure is in the UAE and Qatar. There are only 1.9% elderly there.

Aging society

This is a global problem that is the largest in economic terms. If you believe UN forecasts, then in a little more than 30 years, about a quarter of the planet’s population will be pensioners. And in developed countries, for every working person there will be one elderly person who is unemployed due to age.

Solving the problem of aging society requires an integrated approach, including social, economic and technological aspects. First of all, the calculation is made that the age of the so-called “active old age” will increase. We are talking about those cases when older people lead full, eventful lives, and at the same time look youthful. Fortunately, there are many of them.

Medicine is moving forward by leaps and bounds, so maintaining visual youth and good health is a reality. And thanks to industrial automation, aging people with deteriorating conditions have the opportunity to continue working. Plus, remote work has appeared, which is convenient for the elderly. And many managed to master it.

But it is worth returning to the topic of changing the age structure of the population. To assess the aging process of society, a convenient scale is used, compiled by the demographer J. Beauge-Garnier. It was modified by E. Rosset, and this is what happened (see table below).

What are the forecasts for Russia? If already in 2000 the Russian Federation reached the last level of demographic old age (18.5%), then by 2050, according to expert calculations, it will grow to 37.2%.

Influencing factors

It is impossible not to mention them. Factors influencing the age structure of the population include:

Life expectancy of people, the ratio of fertility and mortality.
Biological features. Different nations have different birth ratios for girls and boys.
Losses during wars. The most terrible factor, which is the most serious.
Migration. According to statistics, in countries that actively accept citizens of other states, there are a large number of mature men.
Economic state of the country.

The last factor is considered by many to be the key one. Not surprising, since it affects the availability of jobs and public health.

Sex and age structure

The ratio of women and men can hardly be called equal. There are fewer representatives of the strong part of humanity. This is all due to gender imbalance - a demographic effect that arises due to wars and internal politics (one family - 1 child).

In the last century, the ratio was as follows: 52% women and 48% men. Now there are 1% fewer representatives of the strong part of humanity. It would seem that one percent is so little. Yes, but now there are about 7.6 billion people living on Earth. And if converted into a ratio, then this 1% will turn into 76,000,000 men.

Continuing the topic of the gender and age structure of the population, it is worth saying that such disproportions are an obstacle to creating families. Fortunately, the violations that occurred during the Great Patriotic War have already been smoothed out to a certain extent. Now disparities are observed due to differences in fertility and mortality. But they are not catastrophic. Census data will help you verify this:

1959 There are 1,249 women per 1,000 men.
1989 There are 1,138 women per 1,000 men.
1999 There are 1129 women per 1000 men.

It is interesting that in cities the number of men under the age of 25 is greater than the number of women who are in the same category. In rural areas the indicators are different. There, the male population is higher than the female population in all categories up to 50 years. It is believed that this is due to the migration of girls to big cities.

The situation in Asia using the example of China

This is also a very interesting topic. The age structure of the population of Asian countries differs significantly from that in European countries. Especially China. After all, this is the state with the largest population in the world. The country has conducted a census six times, with the most recent one in 2010. At that time, there were 1,339,724,852 people living in China. And only the mainland part was taken into account. Taiwan (23.2 million), Macau (550 thousand) and Hong Kong (7.1 million) were not taken into account.

Over 10 years, China's population grew by ~94,600,000 people. And according to the official population counter, in 2016 the figure rose to 1,376,570,000.

Interestingly, for every 100 women in China there are 119 men. There are more representatives of the strong part of humanity in all age categories. The only exceptions are pensioners. The data is:

From 0 to 15 years. For every 100 women there are 113 men.
From 15 to 65 years. For every 100 women there are 106 men.
From 65 and above. For every 100 women there are 91 men.

It is impossible not to mention the “one family - 1 child” policy adopted in the country with the aim of reducing the birth rate. To normalize the demographic situation, they began to popularize late marriages, complicate the process of creating a family, provide free abortions, etc.

Average ages

They are also interesting to consider. The statistics are quite recent, for 2015. The average age of the population is also called median. It divides all citizens living in the country into two groups - younger than the specified indicator and older. It is difficult to list all states, so the data is selective:

Monaco - 51.7.
Germany and Japan - 46.5.
UK - 40.4.
Belarus - 39.6.
USA - 37.8.
Cyprus - 36.1.
Armenia - 34.2.
Tunisia - 31.9.
UAE - 30.3.
Kazakhstan - 30.
Maldives - 27.4.
South Africa - 26.5.
Jordan - 22.
Congo - 19.8.
Senegal - 18.5.
South Sudan - 17.
Niger - 15.2.

In Russia, the average age of the population is 39.1 years. Compared to most European countries, where rates are above 40, we are still a young society.

Social structure of the population

It is also necessary to talk about it. This concept refers to the functioning in society of such elements and structures as the production team, family and social groups. This is important because all of the above is a source of population reproduction, livelihoods and protection of vital interests.

The social structure, according to the scheme proposed by the Soviet sociologist A.V. Dmitriev, consists of five groups:

Elite. The upper class of society. Consists of the old party elite, which has merged with the new political elite.
Working class. This group is also divided into layers according to various criteria (industry, classification, etc.).
Intelligentsia. This includes writers, teachers, doctors, military personnel, etc. In general, educated people with a respected specialty.
"Bourgeoisie". Businessmen and entrepreneurs.
Peasantry. They do housework.

The changes taking place in society allow us to make predictions for the future. Predict how society and the quality of life of the population will be functionally and spatially transformed (freedom, security, welfare, etc.).

About population reproduction

Finally, it is worth talking about the demographic crisis. In simple terms, this is a decline in population. Considering that the population of the Earth at the beginning of the 21st century was 6 billion, and by 2011 it had crossed the line of seven billion, there is no need to talk about a demographic crisis. If the dynamics remain the same, then in 2024 the number of people on our planet will be 8 billion.

But if we talk about Russia, then population decline is still observed. From 1925 to 2000, the birth rate in our country decreased by 5.59 children. The most noticeable decline occurred in the 80s and 90s. It was during this period that the mortality rate exceeded the birth rate.

Now the situation has smoothed out somewhat. But the birth rate cannot be called active. Scientists identify the following reasons influencing this:

Demoeconomic factors. People have neither demographic nor economic motivation.
Social factors. People have no desire to have children or are unable to support them (a reference to a decline in living standards).
Medical and social factors. The quality of life and health decreases. The state does not support public health, mortality is rising, and there is widespread alcoholism and drug addiction. People don't want to have children in such conditions so that they don't have to live in them.

Age is the period from a person’s birth to one or another moment in his life. Age is measured in years, months (in the first year of life), weeks (in the first month of life), days and hours.

The age structure of the population of developed countries is characterized by a low proportion of children (usually below 1/5), an increased proportion of the working-age population and a significant stratum of older people (more than 1/5) due to long life expectancy. In developing countries, with high rates of natural population growth, the proportion of children in its structure is high and the proportion of older people is low, since life expectancy is low.

The age structure of the population plays an important role in demographic processes, influencing the value of all demographic indicators. Thus, with a relatively high percentage of young people in the population (if other conditions are equal), there will be a high marriage and birth rate and a low mortality rate (since, quite naturally, young people get sick less often and die even less often). In turn, demographic processes have a strong impact on the age structure of the population.

Age structure plays an active role not only in demographic, but in all social processes. Age is associated with psychology, emotionality, and to some extent, the human mind. Rebellions and revolutions occur more often in societies with a young age structure. On the contrary, aging societies, with a high proportion of elderly people, are subject to dogmatism and stagnation.

Information about the age of individual groups of people at the time of observation allows us to build the age structure of the population.

Information about the age structure of the population is necessary for the study of many socio-economic and demographic processes. Using knowledge of the age structure of the population in a given period of time, it is possible to make fairly informed assumptions about future trends in fertility and mortality, other demographic processes, and reproduction of the population as a whole. Knowing these features, you can also assess the likelihood of certain problems arising in the economic and social spheres, predict the demand for certain goods or services, the results of elections in a particular region, etc. and so on.

To construct the age structure of the population, one-year and five-year age intervals are usually used. Much less often, the age structure is built on ten-year age intervals.

The five-year age structure is built according to the following age groups: 0 years, 1-4 years, 5-9 years, 10-14 years,..., 35-39 years, ..., 80-84 years, ..., 100 years and older.

This is the so-called standard age grouping, which is used in international demostatistical practice (in particular, in UN publications) and which should be followed by everyone who uses age as an independent or dependent variable. This is necessary to ensure comparability of results across studies.

One-year age structure is the distribution of the population into the following age groups: 0 years, 1, 2, ..., 34, 35, ..., 89, ..., one hundred is a certain age limit that ends the distribution of the population according to one-year age groups.

The general trend of changes in the age structure of the population as the birth rate decreases and average life expectancy increases, naturally, is the trend of an increase in the proportion of older people, i.e. demographic aging process

A person’s age is the period from his birth to one or another counted moment in his life. Since at different stages of his life a person performs different economic, social and demographic functions, various classifications(groups) ages– both more fractional and more generalized. Fractional classifications include, for example, the following

Table 45

DYNAMICS OF THE AGE STRUCTURE OF THE WORLD POPULATION

As a matter of fact, such a classification serves as the basis for identifying and calculating human populations related to preschool, school, marriage, conscription, electoral, military, reproductive (there are more than 1.5 billion women of this age worldwide), working age, retirement and other ages . Of particular importance among these categories is the division of people into three groups: pre-working(pre-worker), able-bodied(worker) and post-working age(post-working) ages. The boundaries between them can be drawn in different ways. Thus, in Russia, the category of people of working age includes men aged 16 to 59 years and women aged 16 to 54 years (inclusive), and in most foreign countries men and women aged 16 to 65 years are considered able-bodied.

Accordingly, to characterize the age structure of the population and assess structural changes in domestic demography, a large division of all people into three age groups is used: nursery(0-14 years), adult(15–59 years old) and elderly (60 years old and older). In international demographic statistics, gradations are usually used: 0-14, 15-64, 65 years and older. It is clear that as the population reproduction regime changes, the share ratio of the three indicated age groups also changes. This can be demonstrated using data from around the world that reflects the gradual aging of the population. (Table 45).

Since individual large regions of the modern world, as has already been shown, are at different stages of the demographic transition and have different regimes of population reproduction, differences in their age structure are very clearly manifested in them (Table 46).

Table 46

AGE STRUCTURE OF POPULATIONS IN LARGE REGIONS OF THE WORLD IN THE LATE 1990s.

* Without CIS countries.

Despite all the differences in the indicators of large regions of the world, two types of age structure of the population can be distinguished, corresponding to two types of its reproduction. The first type characteristic of foreign Asia, Africa and Latin America (with their typical high birth and death rates and reduced average life expectancy), it is distinguished by a very large proportion of children in the population and a small proportion of elderly people. Second type is typical for countries with low birth rates, low mortality rates and long average life expectancies - primarily for foreign countries in Europe and North America, but to a certain extent also for the CIS, Australia and Oceania. The most characteristic features of this type of age structure of the population are a smaller proportion of children and a high percentage of elderly people.

Each of these types of population age structure has its own advantages and disadvantages. Thus, in regions where the first type of age structure of the population predominates, huge problems are caused by the need to train and employ young people, while the problem of providing for pensioners is not acute. In regions where the second type predominates, on the contrary, there is an increasing shortage of young people, and pension provision has long become one of the most important and complex social problems. Economically developed Western countries already spend 1/10 of their GDP on pensions.

Of course, when analyzing the age structure of the population of individual countries of the world, a greater diversity of its subtypes is revealed. Nevertheless, both of its main types described above can be traced, perhaps, even more clearly in the example of individual countries. (Table 47).

In principle, the data in Table 48 does not contain anything unexpected. Its first column includes 18 countries of Tropical Africa and 2 countries of South-West Asia, where the peak of the population explosion is still observed, and demographic policy is either not being pursued at all or is just beginning to be implemented. In the second column you can see the countries of Europe and Japan, that is, states with narrowed or at best simple reproduction of the population. To what has been said, it remains to be added that countries with an age structure of the population belonging to the second type are usually characterized by a noticeable predominance of women in middle and older ages. This advantage can be a fraction of a percent, but sometimes reaches 1–2%.

Table 47

TWENTY "Youngest" and "oldest" countries in the world in 2005

* Palestinian Authority in the State of Israel.

To these indicators you can add the indicator middle aged population of countries, which is calculated as the arithmetic mean of the ages of all people. According to UN calculations, the highest average ages (indicated in brackets) in 2000 were: Italy (40.2 years), Germany (39.7), Sweden (39.7), Greece (39.1), Finland ( 39.1), Belgium (39.0), Denmark (38.8), Croatia (38.5), Bulgaria (38.5 years). Accordingly, the countries with the youngest average age were: Uganda (15.0 years), Nigeria (15.8 years), Yemen (15.9), Democratic Republic of the Congo (15.9), Somalia (16.0), Zambia (16.1), Angola (16.2), Burkina Faso (16.2 years).

Russia is also an example of a country characterized by the second type of age structure of the population: the share of children in its population is only 19%, and the share of people over 60 years old only increased from 9 to 18% from 1959 to 1999; At the same time, there are several percent more older people in rural areas than in cities.

It is widely used to graphically depict the characteristics of the age structure of the population. age (age-sex) pyramid. It is a two-way graph in which the number of people of each age and sex, or their proportion of the entire population, is depicted by horizontal bars of the same scale. Such stripes are located one above the other in increasing order of age, usually from 0 to 100 years, on the left for men, on the right for women. Despite the diversity of such pyramids, they can be reduced to three main types in accordance with three modes of population reproduction (Fig. 41).

Average age is an indicator that divides the country's population into two equal categories, characterizing that half of the people living in a given state are younger than the specified average age, and half are older.

The average age of the world's population is calculated by a weighted arithmetic average. This indicator indicates how many young and elderly people will live in a particular country.

The average age of the population is a very important indicator, because if the country is “young”, then the state will need to invest more funds in the development of the educational sector and the provision of employment.

If the majority of the population is elderly, then the country directs resources to social security and the organization of pension payments (this occurs at different times in different countries).

The age structure of the world's population is often used to prepare forecasts on political issues related to various areas. For example, if in a country the majority of the population is young people, but the state has problems with unemployment, then having predicted this situation, this problem can be solved by organizing new jobs for the younger generation.

This means that almost half of the population (46.3%) is under 15 years of age.

This situation is due to the high birth rate. In Niger, each woman has 6-7 children. This demographic situation is also affected by the high mortality rate among the adult population, which is 20.26 people per 1000 inhabitants.

Second place belongs to the country. In that state, the average age of the population is 15.5 years. In recent years, this country has experienced a demographic explosion, which provoked a “rejuvenation” of the population.

It is also worth noting that Uganda has a poorly developed healthcare system, so many residents die from numerous diseases after 40 years of age.

It ranks third in the ranking of countries in the world in terms of the average age of the population with an indicator of 16 years. The constant decrease in age is influenced by high birth rates and deaths from malaria, intestinal infections, leprosy and tuberculosis. Also, more than 15,000 HIV-infected citizens die in this country every year.

In fourth place is the Republic of Malawi with an average age of the population of 16.3 years. This African country is characterized by a population growth of 2.8% per year, due to which it ranks 13th in terms of fertility on the entire African continent.

Seventh place belongs to the country. The average age of the population is 16.9 years. Population growth dynamics – 2.442%. In this country, an urgent problem is the large number of HIV-infected citizens who do not have access to qualified medical treatment due to a lack of funds in the state budget.

Burundi is in eighth place with an indicator of 17 years. The annual population growth is 2.4%. A decrease in the number of middle-aged residents occurred between 1972 and 1993, when confrontations between two ethnic groups began in the country: Tutsis and Hutus. Because of this man-made genocide, millions of Burundians died at the hands of enemy groups.

Ninth place is occupied by a state called Burkina Faso. The average age in the cities of this republic is 17 years. The country also has a high birth rate. But this is not the main problem with the predominance of a young population. The state has a low level of urbanization and lacks municipal and educational institutions.

The Republic of Chad completes the ranking of countries by population age with an indicator of 17.2 years. The problem of this state is low development and hunger. Most of Chad's people are starving. The country is also experiencing an outflow of middle-aged residents to more developed republics.

Rating of countries with the oldest populations

The higher the average age of the population, the higher the level of development of the country. A high rate indicates prosperity, a good healthcare system and a well-functioning social security system.

Table: top 10 countries with the highest average age of the population

Age composition is one of the most important characteristics of the population and is of significant interest from demographic, social and economic points of view. It is used to calculate the available and

The projected number of economically active population, labor resources, pensioners, preschoolers, schoolchildren. It is of particular importance now, when specialists from different countries are increasingly concerned about the aging of the nation. This process is becoming global, gradually covering more and more countries.

When considering the age composition of the population, three main age groups are usually distinguished: younger (children from birth to 14 years), middle (from 14 to 59 years) and older (elderly) - 60 years or more. This section is the basis for assessing the biological “youth” or “old age” of a society. At the same time, some sources use a different gradation of the population of the middle and older age groups - 15-64 and 65 years and older. For this reason, we will have to use data consistent with both approaches.

The age structure of the world's population depends on the following factors: fertility, mortality, life expectancy. If we are talking about a specific country or territory, then the influence of historical events (primarily related to military operations), demographic policy and migration is added to them. In turn, many demographic indicators, especially fertility and mortality, depend on the age composition. Thus, with an increase in the proportion of the population in the older age group, the first indicator decreases and the second increases.

In 2005, the population of the youngest age group in the world was 27.8%, the middle age group (aged 15-64 years) - 64.9%, the oldest age group 65 years and older - 7.3% (in 2008 - 27 , 3, 65.1 and 7.6%, respectively). However, there are significant differences between countries depending on the level of development. In developed countries, the population of the younger age group was 17%, middle - 63%, older - 20%, in less developed countries - 32, 60 and 8%, respectively, and in the least developed - 43, 52 and 5%. Noteworthy is the significant gap in the share of the younger and older age groups between the first and two other groups. In more developed countries, a unique and highly symbolic demographic revolution took place in 1998 - the share of the population in the older age group exceeded the share of the population under the age of 14. According to forecasts, in 2050 a similar revolution will take place all over the world - 21.1% of the elderly versus 21% of children.

So, we can distinguish two main types of age structure of the population: the first characterizes more developed countries, as well as a number of countries in Asia and Latin America (primarily the newly industrialized ones), the second characterizes the majority of representatives of the second and third groups (the majority of developing ones). More developed countries have “survived” a demographic explosion, and its “echoes” are clearly visible in the age structure. It is precisely because of the demographic explosion that took place in the 50-60s that more than 60% of the population of these countries are people aged 15 to 60 years. This group of countries is characterized by a reduced proportion of children, in some countries reaching record lows, and a large percentage of older people. The clear predominance of European countries, as well as the large number of post-socialist states, which are characterized by extremely low birth rates, attracts attention.

Developing, characterized by a large percentage of the population of childhood (from a third and above) and a small proportion of elderly people. All these figures are easy to explain: in countries of this type there is a high birth rate, a large natural increase, and life expectancy is negligible. Moreover, high indicators of the share of the population in the younger age group and low indicators in the older age group characterize the poor countries of the world. Let's illustrate this with a table. All states presented in the table belong to the group of least developed countries in the world, except for Yemen and Afghanistan, this is Africa.

As the demographic transition phases progress and life expectancy increases, the situation in developing countries will change: the proportion of children will decrease, the proportion of the middle-aged and then elderly population will increase. These “transformations” will affect not only the age structure, but also social and economic status. It is known that the rapid increase in population in developing countries does not have the positive potential that was noted in developed countries; on the contrary, most often it negatively affects the economy of backward countries. This increases the burden on arable land, exacerbates the food problem, raises the question of creating new jobs and increasing access to educational institutions (57 million boys and 96 million girls in developing countries aged 15-24 cannot read or write). In addition, the rate of population aging in developing countries is expected to be higher than in developed ones.

In general, the world is growing up, or rather, its population is growing up. In the mid-1970s, the median age of the world population was 22.9 years; today it is 27.6 years (27 years for men and 28.2 for women). By 2050, the global median age is expected to exceed 36 years, with the proportion of the population in the older age group increasing sharply.

“Growing up” does not occur in all countries at the same time, but gradually: in many developing countries, while “childhood and youth” predominate, this is especially typical for the least developed countries, the population of developed and post-socialist countries looks like “adults,” one might say “mature.” countries In the future, the world will begin to age; the proportion of older people grew throughout the second half of the 20th century. Today, the world's elderly population is growing by 2% annually, which is significantly higher than the rate of increase in the population as a whole. This trend is expected to not only continue, but also intensify in the coming decades. Thus, the growth rate of the population aged 60 years and older in 2025-2030 will reach 2.8% per year. This is facilitated not only by a decrease in the birth rate, but also by an increase in average life expectancy; this figure for the world as a whole increased from 46 years in 1950-1955 to 65 years in 2003, and in developed countries the average life expectancy is 76 years, in less developed countries - 63 years, and in the least developed countries - 50 years (in the least developed countries, life expectancy is one third shorter than the life expectancy of representatives of the “golden billion”).