Havana, Cuba, Jul 3, 2008 / 11:14 am
Experts from the National Office of Statistics and of the Latin American Center for the Elderly said this week that Cuba has one of the oldest populations in Latin America and that by 2020 there will be more elderly people than children in the country.
The Prensa Latina news agency quoted experts from the organizations who said that for the first time in Cuba, “by 2020 there will be more elderly than children.” In 1985 11.3% of the population was above the age of 60. At the end of 2007, the number had risen to 16.6%.”
According to projections, in two or three decades Cuba could become the country with the highest percentage of elderly in all of Latin America, with a life expectancy of 78.
The U.N/ has singled out Barbados and Cuba as the two Latin American and Caribbean countries with the greatest number of elderly in the short term.