25th IUSSP International Population Conference highlights ageing issues

An elderly couple in Madrid enjoying the winter sun (Photo by Wanphen Sreshthaputra)

“In most Western countries, 2005 marks a new demographic shock: the grandfather boom will introduce a delicate balance between the working and non-working”, said Catherine Rollet, president of the organizing committee of the conference of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP), quoted in an AFP news story.

The West is not alone in suffering from the demographic time bomb, the AFP reporter notes.

“The ageing of the population has started to affect the developing countries: it will be one of the most important changes of the 21st century”, Ms. Rollet said in the same story released ahead of the conference.
Ageing was one of the numerous topics discussed during the recent population conference held at Tours, France from 18 to 23 July.

Economic aspects of ageing, elderly dependence, intergenerational relationships were among the topics tackled under this agenda item.
Held every four years, the conference organized by IUSSP brought together over 2,000 scientists and members of the population community. Over 700 papers and communications were presented at the conference in over 160 regular sessions, poster sessions, plenary sessions, debate sessions, besides training sessions and side-meetings.

In addition, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) hosted a special session entitled “ICPD Vision: How Far Has the Eleven-Year Journey Taken Us?”, while over 16 sessions were held on the theme of The Future of Europe’s Population to mark European Population Day.

“It is surely one of the largest conferences I have ever attended. It gave us the chance to interact with people from around 100 nationalities”, commented Ms. Sureeporn Punpuing, Associate Professor, Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol University, Thailand.

“I found that some sessions, in particular on Europe, were very relevant to our region since there are a lot of lessons to be learned by developing countries from developed countries in relation to ageing, fertility and family structure for example. In Asia we are also moving towards low fertility and increasing proportions of elderly”, Ms. Punpuing commented.

IUSSP is one of the leading international professional associations for individuals interested in population studies. It promotes scientific studies of demography and population-related issues.