The Briefing Room

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David Aaronovitch presents in-depth explainers on big issues in the news.

David Aaronovitch and a panel of experts and insiders present in-depth explainers on big issues in the news.

David Aaronovitch and a panel of experts and insiders present in-depth explainers on big issues in the news

BBC Radio 4 LW

The Briefing Room: Our Ageing World

29/12/2022

Our Ageing World

BBC Radio 4 - The Briefing Room, Our Ageing World

The global population is rapidly getting older. How do we deal with the impacts?

The global population is getting older. Fast. Can we mitigate this huge demographic shift and how do we deal with the impacts?

For years, the major problem of world demography was thought to be the risk of over-population. Now, it's the fact that the global population is ageing fast.

According to the United Nations, the number of people over 65 is set to double between now and 2050, to 1.6 billion people. And, at the same time, the birth rate in most of the world is falling, often sharply.
This demographic shift comes with huge social and economic implications. What are they, and what can we do to cope with them? 		

Joining David Aaronovitch in The Briefing Room are:

Stephanie Hegarty, BBC Global Population Correspondent
Marco Valerio Lo Prete, Economics Editor at Italian State Broadcaster RAI and author of “Italians: The Unhappy Few”
Robert Kelly., Professor of Political Science at Pusan National University, South Korea 
Camilla Cavendish, Senior Fellow at Harvard University
Ian Goldin, Professor of Globalisation and Development at the Oxford Martin School

Producers: Simon Watts, Kirsteen Knight and Octavia Woodward
Editor: Richard Vadon
Studio manager: Rod Farquhar
Production co-ordinators: Sophie Hill and Siobhan Reed

Intelligent speech, the most insightful journalism, the wittiest comedy, the most fascinating features and the most compelling drama and readings anywhere in UK radio.

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