(MENAFN- Costa Rica News) Currently, the average age in Costa Rica is 34.6 years. This figure includes the age of all Costa Ricans, from children to older adults. In a few years, the figure could skyrocket: the figure would rise to 47 years in 2050. The data exceeds expectations for Latin America, where the average population is currently 31 years old and in a quarter of a century it would reach 40.
This is another face of the demographic change and the drop in birth rates that has been observed in the country, as highlighted by the UN Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLAC), in its Demographic Observatory 2024. It is a review of the state of the population where a significant variation is warned between the projections made in 2000 and the current state.
With this scenario comes more pressures and challenges throughout the region “The accelerated demographic transition has caused major changes in the age structure of the region's population,” the report states.“In 1950, around 41% of the population was under 15 years old; today, that proportion has been reduced to 22.5%. At the same time, the adult population between 15 and 64 years old went from constituting 55.6% of the total population in 1950 to representing 67.6% in 2024,” they add.
The stories behind the numbers With the current data, it can already be estimated that in 2050, around 18.9% of the regional population will be older adults. That is double the current representation, where the percentage weight is 9.9%.
Behind these figures there are several human faces to consider. They highlight fewer babies being born, couples postponing their decision to have children and an increase in the need for care. ECLAC is clear that the impact will be widespread, but when it comes to challenges, Costa Rica's name is frequently cited.
According to ECLAC, the child population continues to decline Demographic data show the radical chang in a century. In 1950, the average age in Latin America was 18 years old, and by 2050, the figure will more than double, reaching 40 years old (Photo taken from Pixabay)
What does ECLAC see in Costa Rica? The demographic challenge is based on a particular dichotomy. On the one hand, there are fewer children, and on the other, adults are not only representing a greater percentage, but they are living many more years than before.
For Costa Rica, ECLAC's reading begins with the fact that, along with Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, the Bahamas and Jamaica, they are the countries where births have deviated the most from the projected figures. At the same time, they are also among the nations where life expectancy has increased the most.
Key elements of these readings are, for example, the drop in pregnancies among younger women.“The drop in fertility observed in countries such as Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica and Uruguay in the second half of the 2010s is striking. This drop was mainly due to the decrease in fertility among younger women (15 to 24 years old). In 2024, the global fertility rate in these countries is 1.5, 1.14, 1.32 and 1.4 children per woman, respectively,” ECLAC highlights.
The new format of an older society will come with the need to care for people without affecting the opportunities of others.“In countries where aging has been more accelerated, such as Chile, Costa Rica and Cuba, the burden of care has already increased considerably in the current decade,” the report notes.
“This increase may be worrying in the future, since the dynamics of women's insertion into the workforce have changed significantly. It is difficult, and not at all desirable, for women today to take on workloads similar to or greater than those assumed by women in the past,” they insist.
ECLAC's diagnosis highlights aspects such as: The population of Latin America and the Caribbean reaches 663 million people. This is 3.8% less than the 689 million expected in 2000.
The demographic change has accelerated because the projections made with the trends of the 1990s do not match the final behavior.
Two variables must be added that have impacted population numbers so far in the 21st century. On one hand, there are migratory flows and on the other, the Covid-19 pandemic.
What should be done about this? First, review the conditions, especially of the most vulnerable people at the socioeconomic level.“We call for promoting healthy aging of the population and offering everyone, especially lower-income groups, access to health and social protection systems that reduce the impact of the increased demand for care on families,” explains ECLAC Secretary General José Manuel Salazar.
The institution asserts that aging is a public policy issue. They emphasize there the need to monitor the issue of care, currently largely entrusted to women. They also speak of the decline in the rural population, where a drop in the workforce is already beginning to be noticed.-
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