Are Singapore's poor better off?By Rebecca Lim
BBC News, Singapore
Wan Zaleha smiles as the smell of freshly-brewed coffee permeates the air at a non-profit centre caring for low-income and needy people in Singapore.
For the last six years, from Mondays to Saturdays, the 72-year-old has served as a volunteer, making tea and coffee for residents living in one-room apartments in the neighbourhood.
She lives in one of the one-room apartments - which average 30 sq.m and cost S$23 ($19, £12) to S$205 ($165, £104) a month to rent from the government depending on household income.
She is not employed and receives groceries worth S$70 from individual donors every month.
Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos recently that although it was ''no fun'' being poor in Singapore, people were still ''less badly off'' than the poor in other countries, including the US.
The government ensures that ''everybody starts with some chips'' and not at zero, he added, through education, health care and public housing.
He has also promised more help for low-income households in this year's budget, to be delivered at a parliament sitting on Friday.
The thought of poor people in Singapore may seem a disconnect with its reputation as an Asian financial hub, shoppers' haunt and food haven.
And there is truth to what the PM said, social workers, volunteers and professionals told the BBC, albeit with a hint of discomfort.
If one compares the poor in Singapore to those in countries such as India and China, or even the homeless in the US, it is indeed true that the situation here is not as dire, they said.
''But there are still many people in Singapore who need help,'' said Huang Jing Jing, an active community service volunteer for 30 years. ''Some of them are really struggling. You have to see it for yourself to know.''
''Certainly, poverty is not in your face here,'' said Mr Laurence Lien, chief executive officer of the non-profit National Volunteer & Philanthropy Centre and a newly-appointed Nominated Member of Parliament. ''But yes, it is happening here.''
His friend, a teacher at a primary school in a low-income neighbourhood, told him that on the first day of school half the class of six and seven-year-olds showed up without textbooks because their parents could not afford them.
Healthy income?
In Singapore, however, there is no national poverty line.
In response to a question raised in parliament in November 2011, the Acting Minister for Community Development, Youth and Sports (MCYS) said that the help that the ministry provides ''typically cover the bottom 20th percentile of households, with the flexibility to go beyond if the family's circumstances merit consideration''.
Based on a study published by the Department of Statistics in 2011, the average monthly household income, where at least one member was employed, for the bottom 10th percentile was S$1,581. That of those in the 11th to 20th percentile was S$3,135.
The poorest 1.4 billion people in the world lived on $1.25 or less a day in 2005, according to World Bank estimates published in 2008.
A US Census Bureau report said the lowest quintile of the population had an annual household income of less than $20,000 in 2010. That is comparable to Singapore's numbers.
The US measures poverty using thresholds in dollar value - if a family's income is less than its threshold, then everyone in that family would be considered ''in poverty''.
Based on data at least, the poor in Singapore does come across as being better off than those in other countries. However, the realities on the ground paint a different picture.
Public and social assistance
On paper, Ng Siew Teen has a household income of more than S$2,000. But she said her husband, who works as a driver, had only taken home a month's salary in the last three months. They have two daughters, ages five and four, and are also supporting his 12-year-old daughter from a previous marriage
Ms Ng suffers from a hereditary skin condition and was only able to undergo surgery recently when a donor paid her medical bill. Her husband lost his previous job after he was hospitalised for an operation in October 2011.
In her one-room apartment she fished out unpaid bills, including one for more than S$400 owed in school fees.
''I just want a simple life. But who doesn't want to have money in their pocket?'' she said. ''We didn't even have money to celebrate Chinese New Year.''
Families such as Ms Ng's can apply for aid from a series of public assistance schemes administered by the MCYS. These include subsidies for education as well as financial help for the elderly or disabled who are unable to work.
The ComCare Fund, established in 2005, has helped more than 190,000 through the various schemes. The fund recorded a balance of S$811m in March 2011 and received an additional S$500m in May.
Social assistance is also available, in the form of social services for vulnerable and needy individuals and families. Low-income workers can also tap on wage supplement schemes and job training programmes.
''Singapore has an extensive social safety net,'' said a ministry spokesman. ''Singaporeans enjoy subsidised housing, healthcare and education.''
The challenge, though, lies in getting the help to those who need it the most.
They are often unaware of the aid they can get, or unsure of the process to apply for help, said Zulaiha Bakar, co-ordinator at the non-profit Sunlove Marsiling centre that looks after the needs of about 500 low-income and needy people.
Her job also involves assisting them with phone calls and paperwork. ''Some people may not want to be seen receiving help so they don't come to us,'' she added.
'Still a struggle'
Apart from the ministry, there are a host of non-profit, civil and religious organisations, as well as charitable individuals offering services and donations
But one group that can fall through the cracks, though, are the low-wage-earners who are not eligible for public assistance.
The Singapore government has always maintained its message of ''self-reliance'' and stressed that it cannot adopt a welfare-state system.
Unemployment is low, at 2% and a record 14-year low last year, according to data released last month by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM). But a public housing survey in 2008 showed that a third of one-room apartment residents have no earned income.
The MOM data shows that income for the lowest quintile have increased 11% over the last five years, after taking inflation into account.
But it is still critical to address wage issues, said Mr Lien, as Singapore is ''not a cheap place to live in''.
''You can have a home; you can have shelter,'' he said. ''But it's still a struggle.''
Singapore's Economy
Population: 4.8 million (UN, 2010)
GNI per capita: US $41,430 (World Bank, 2010)
Unemployment rate: 2% average in 2011 for Singapore citizens and residents (Ministry of Manpower, 2012)
Median income (from work): S$3070 at June 2011 for Singapore citizens (Ministry of Manpower, 2012
Public housing in Singapore
The Housing and Development Board (HDB) is Singapore's public housing authority
About 80% of Singaporeans live in public housing
About 90% of them own their apartments
Various financial schemes are available to help those eligible buy a HDB apartment
Low-income families are eligible to rent 1-room and 2-room apartments from the HDB
The average size of a 1-room apartment is 30 sq.m; a 2-room apartment is 40 to 45 sq.m
Monthly rental for a 1-room apartment range from S$23 to S$205, and from S$44 to S$275 for a 2-room apartment, depending on household income and other conditions
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
An indictment of the PAP’s policy by LKY
At an international conference held in Singapore in 2010, former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew made a shocking admission that our GDP growth was based purely on foreign workers. He said, “We’ve grown in the last five years by just importing labour.” (Emphasis added)
Did Mr Lee just issue a damning indictment of his Government’s economic policy? Never one to mince his words or use them without due care, MM Lee confirmed what Singaporeans had been suspecting all along, that our GDP growth was fueled largely — Mr Lee says exclusively — by a foreign workforce.
The sheer volume of foreigners coming onto this island would give any GDP a bump. The tragedy is that growth has neither improved the quality of our economy nor added value to our workforce. Like the empty calories that alcohol provides but with little nutritional value to the body, our dependence on foreign workers boosts the GDP in the short term but does nothing to raise our productivity and skill-level.
And like alcohol, it is intoxicating and creates dependence as evidenced by the inability of the Government to wean our economy off the easy highs that exploitation of cheap labour brings.
But the GDP is what the PAP relies on. For one thing, our Ministers salaries are GDP-dependent, they reap much reward when this index goes up. This is independent of the fact that Singaporeans are forced to compete unfairly with their foreign counterparts who are able to accept much lower wage levels. Such an arrangement ensures that while the Ministers remain motivated, it crushes the morale and spirit of our workers, not to mention their livelihoods.
Such an approach does nothing to sharpen our economic competitiveness nor does it prepare us for what lies ahead.
The problem is not that the Government is blind to all this. Minister for Manpower Gan Kim Yong explained the need to reduce our reliance on a foreign workforce because this adversely impacted on productivity: “We have to ensure that our productivity improvement will catch up. We don’t have a lot of time — the other countries are improving, our competitors are improving and therefore we have to step up our efforts to do so.”
Mr Lee even announced a time frame to achieve the goal. “The next five years, we have decided we will tier down our need for foreign workers,” he promised in 2010.
The real problem is that the PAP does not have the will and the courage to go through with such its own plan because like someone who is inebriated, the party is not thinking beyond the next drink. The temptation is simply too powerful.
As quickly as the words left the MM’s mouth, the Ministry of Manpower was taking them back. In 2011 it reversed course and recruited 85,000 foreign workers, up 38 percent from 53,000 in 2010.
Our economy is drifting. Worse, the Government doesn’t have any idea on how we should proceed. The fact that we have had four recessions in the past 15 years is indicative of the quality of the PAP’s economic policy.
We went into a deep downturn following the Asian financial crisis in 1997. Before we could fully recovery, the economy plunged by -1.2 percent in 2001 and did not receive until 2003. In 2008, we were hit again and registered the steepest decline in GDP growth in our history; the GDP shrank 16.4 percent between October and December, in 2008. The next year it rebounded to 14.9 percent. But even before anyone had time to say “hurray” we were back down in a slump in 2011 and continuing into the present.
These wild economic gyrations make the roller-coaster rides at Universal Studios look tame. They tell us that the PAP is not in control. Worse, they signal a ruling party bereft of ideas and drunk on foreign labour.
Mr Lee just confirmed it.
.http://www.tremeritus.com/2012/02/15/an-indictment-of-the-paps-policy-by-lky/
Did Mr Lee just issue a damning indictment of his Government’s economic policy? Never one to mince his words or use them without due care, MM Lee confirmed what Singaporeans had been suspecting all along, that our GDP growth was fueled largely — Mr Lee says exclusively — by a foreign workforce.
The sheer volume of foreigners coming onto this island would give any GDP a bump. The tragedy is that growth has neither improved the quality of our economy nor added value to our workforce. Like the empty calories that alcohol provides but with little nutritional value to the body, our dependence on foreign workers boosts the GDP in the short term but does nothing to raise our productivity and skill-level.
And like alcohol, it is intoxicating and creates dependence as evidenced by the inability of the Government to wean our economy off the easy highs that exploitation of cheap labour brings.
But the GDP is what the PAP relies on. For one thing, our Ministers salaries are GDP-dependent, they reap much reward when this index goes up. This is independent of the fact that Singaporeans are forced to compete unfairly with their foreign counterparts who are able to accept much lower wage levels. Such an arrangement ensures that while the Ministers remain motivated, it crushes the morale and spirit of our workers, not to mention their livelihoods.
Such an approach does nothing to sharpen our economic competitiveness nor does it prepare us for what lies ahead.
The problem is not that the Government is blind to all this. Minister for Manpower Gan Kim Yong explained the need to reduce our reliance on a foreign workforce because this adversely impacted on productivity: “We have to ensure that our productivity improvement will catch up. We don’t have a lot of time — the other countries are improving, our competitors are improving and therefore we have to step up our efforts to do so.”
Mr Lee even announced a time frame to achieve the goal. “The next five years, we have decided we will tier down our need for foreign workers,” he promised in 2010.
The real problem is that the PAP does not have the will and the courage to go through with such its own plan because like someone who is inebriated, the party is not thinking beyond the next drink. The temptation is simply too powerful.
As quickly as the words left the MM’s mouth, the Ministry of Manpower was taking them back. In 2011 it reversed course and recruited 85,000 foreign workers, up 38 percent from 53,000 in 2010.
Our economy is drifting. Worse, the Government doesn’t have any idea on how we should proceed. The fact that we have had four recessions in the past 15 years is indicative of the quality of the PAP’s economic policy.
We went into a deep downturn following the Asian financial crisis in 1997. Before we could fully recovery, the economy plunged by -1.2 percent in 2001 and did not receive until 2003. In 2008, we were hit again and registered the steepest decline in GDP growth in our history; the GDP shrank 16.4 percent between October and December, in 2008. The next year it rebounded to 14.9 percent. But even before anyone had time to say “hurray” we were back down in a slump in 2011 and continuing into the present.
These wild economic gyrations make the roller-coaster rides at Universal Studios look tame. They tell us that the PAP is not in control. Worse, they signal a ruling party bereft of ideas and drunk on foreign labour.
Mr Lee just confirmed it.
.http://www.tremeritus.com/2012/02/15/an-indictment-of-the-paps-policy-by-lky/
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
World's Fastest Ageing Populations - yahoo news
The world is rapidly aging. A whopping two billion people will be 60 years and older by 2050, more than triple the number in 2000, according the World Health Organization.
This demographic change has major implications for the global economy. Some of the world's biggest economies are facing rising health-care costs, a shrinking workforce, higher pension costs and diminishing fertility rates. Many countries have already begun adapting to their increasingly aging populations by raising the retirement age, reducing pension benefits and spending more on elderly care.
We've come up with a list of countries with the starkest gap between the number of old and the number of young. We calculated the number of people aged 65 and older for every person 14 years and younger. We've also provided statistics on the percentage of the total population aged 65 and above as well as the percentage aged 14 years and below.
The population numbers are from the CIA World Factbook, while we used organizations such as the World Bank, United Nations (UN), and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to illustrate demographic trends.
So, which countries have the biggest gap between old and young? Click ahead to find out
10. Latvia
Old/young ratio: 1.251:1
65 years & over: 16.9%
0-14 years: 13.5%
With one of the world's oldest populations, Latvia is expected to lose more than a tenth of its of 2.3 million people between 2000 and 2025 , according to the World Bank.
The Baltic state is also the only country on our top 10 list that has more than double the number of elderly women (252,000) than men (122,000). In fact, women live 10 years longer than men in Latvia, which is among the highest gaps in life expectancy between genders in the European Union, according to the United Nations. On the whole, the country has seen its population decline at a rate of 0.5 percent annually from 2006 to 2010, while the percentage of people aged 65 and over has steadily increased.
Not only is Latvia facing a rapidly aging population, the country's ability to support the old took a big hit during the 2009 financial crisis, when its economy suffered the deepest recession in the EU, nosediving 18 percent.
The government had to drastically cut its budget for a $10.2 billion bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and EU . The austerity measures, which sparked a strong reaction from protesters (pictured), included a 10 percent cut in old-age pensions, and a massive 70 percent reduction in pensions for those still working. Pensioners account for 25 percent of Latvia's population, while the labour force makes up only 43 percent, according to former Finance Ministry State Secretary Martins Bicevskis.
Photo: Christian Kober | Getty Images
9. Slovenia
Old/young ratio: 1.253:1
65 years & over: 16.8%
0-14 years: 13.4%
The retirement age in Slovenia is currently among the lowest in the EU, at 57 for women and 58 for men.
Part of the former Yugoslav republic, which was once considered a successful model for post-communist transition, is now facing a series of credit rating downgrades as its economy struggles with a high budget deficit, political instability and an expensive state pension system. Government reform to raise Slovenia's retirement age was rejected in a referendum in June of last year, dealing a major blow to the country's plans to control its ballooning public debt. The World Bank predicts the average age for Slovenia will be 47.4 years in 2025 — among the oldest in the world.
The rapidly aging population has been a big burden on Slovenia's budget. From 2003 to 2009, the average annual increase in health expenditure was 7.1 percent, while GDP growth in the same period was 5.9 percent , according to the government figures. In 2009 alone, the nominal health expenditure grew by 7.1 percent, while Slovenia's GDP contracted 5.3 percent. Despite the increase in health-care spending, Slovenia is still below the average for OECD countries. Total health spending accounted for 9.3 percent of its GDP, compared to average of 9.5 percent in OECD countries in 2009.
Sweden. Photo: Jonathan Nackstrand | AFP | Getty Images
8. Sweden
Old/young ratio: 1.27:1
65 years & over: 19.7%
0-14 years: 15.4%
Sweden is the only country in Scandinavia, a region heralded for its quality of life, to make the top 10 list of the world's oldest populations.
The country's elderly population has steadily increased from 17 percent of the total population in 2006 to 18 percent in 2010, while its population of people aged up to 14 years has remained at 17 percent since 2005, according to the World Bank. Seniors will account for nearly 30 percent of the Swedish population by 2040, according the Global Aging Preparedness (GAP) Index. But, despite its aging population, a recent study by asset management firm Allianz Global Investors showed that Sweden has the second-most sustainable pension system out of 44 major economies, thanks to a highly developed and privately funded system which lessens the burden on public finances. Swedes contribute 18.5 percent of their income to the national pension system.
In December, the government pledged $617 million over the next few years to improve elderly care after a series of highly publicized senior care scandals in recent months. An IMF study from June 2011 has ranked Sweden as the 7th country out of the world's 20 major economies to have the best living standard for the elderly.
Austria. Photo: Westend61 | Getty Images
7. Austria
Old/young ratio: 1.3:1
65 years & over: 18.2%
0-14 years: 14%
Austria's population has the fifth-highest percentage of people aged 65 and over in the world, tied with European counterparts Sweden, Portugal, Latvia and Bulgaria, according to the World Bank.
The country's 65 and over population has gone up from 16 percent of the total population in 2006 to 18 percent in 2010, while its population of people aged 14 and under has declined from 16 percent to 15 percent in the same period. Public pension spending was 12.3 percent of Austria's GDP in 2008, over 5 percent higher than in the average of OECD countries. Austria also has only 3.5 people of working age for every person aged 65 and over, which is below the OECD average of 4.2 workers.
Men in Austria can currently retire as early as 62, while women can retire at 57. There are nearly 245,000 more women aged 65 and over in the country than men, according to the CIA Factbook. The OECD warned Austria last year that the country needs to cut government debt by curbing early retirement and eliminating early pensions. Last week, the country lost its top-notch credit rating, when it was downgraded by Standard & Poor's to AA+.
Bulgaria. Photo: Dimitar Dilkoff | AFP | Getty Images
6. Bulgaria
Old/ young ratio: 1.31:1
65 years & over: 18.2%
0-14 years: 13.9%
Bulgaria is one of three Eastern European countries to make the list of the world's 10 oldest populations. It is also one of only 16 countries in the world that saw their populations decline by more than 5,000 people between 2000 and 2005, according to the World Bank.
Bulgaria's elderly population increased from 17 percent in 2006 to 18 percent in 2010, while its young population aged up to 14 years has remained steady at 14 percent of the total population since 2003, according to the World Bank. By 2025, more than one in five Bulgarians will be older than 65, up from just 13 percent in 1990.
With its rapidly aging population, the Bulgarian government raised the official retirement age by four months starting this year for every year until it reaches 63 for women and 65 for men, up from 60 and 63 respectively. The government backtracked from plans to raise the retirement age by one year in 2012 after thousands of workers stormed through the capital in protest . For its 2.5 million workers, Bulgaria has 2.2 million retired people. It is also the poorest member of the EU, with the lowest GDP per capita, according to Eurostat.
Greece. Photo: Louisa Gouliamaki | AFP | Getty Images
5. Greece
Old/young ratio: 1.38:1
65 years & over: 19.6%
0-14 years: 14.2%
Greece has the world's weakest pension system, crippled by high levels of sovereign debt, low retirement ages and a high ratio of pensioners to workers, according a recent study by Allianz Global Investors.
The country's population of people aged 65 and over has increased from 18 percent in 2006 to 19 percent in 2010, while the group of people aged between 15 and 64 has remained at 67 percent since 2004, according to the World Bank. With nearly one-quarter of Greece's 11 million people retired, pension payments are a major burden on the economy, which is being kept afloat by the EU and IMF bailout funds.
The country made headlines last year for welfare fraud when the government revealed that thousands of dead Greeks were still receiving pensions . Data in June showed that 4,500 deceased civil servants continued to receive pension payments, costing the taxpayer $20.5 million a year. Pressured by international lenders, the country has been forced to make sweeping reforms of its pension system. Now, fewer than 10 percent of Greeks can retire before 65. In 2010, some Greeks could retire as early as 40 years of age on a reduced pension.
Italy. Photo: Giorgio Cosulich | Getty Images
4. Italy
Old/young ratio: 1.47:1
65 years & over: 20.3%
0-14 years: 13.8%
People over the age of 60 will make up a whopping 40 percent of Italy's population by 2040 compared to over 25 percent in 2007, according the GAP Index.
The country has seen its elderly population remain at 20 percent from 2005 to 2010, while the younger population of people aged 0 to 14 years hasn't grown since 1999, remaining at 14 percent. Italy's public spending on pensions is the highest in the EU, at over 16 percent of GDP compared to an average of 11 percent for the bloc.
Once considered one of the most generous pension systems in Europe, Italy's government took a hatchet to the current scheme by announcing a series of austerity measures to reform the welfare system in December . The country has one of the lowest employment rates in the region, in part because people retire long before the European average. Only 37.4 percent of Italians aged 55 to 64 still work, compared to an EU average of 47.5 percent. The new measures would see the minimum pension age for both men and women raised in stages to 66 by 2018 with incentives to keep workers employed until 70.
Germany. Photo: Thomas Grass | Getty Images
3. Germany
Old/young ratio: 1.54:1
65 years & over: 20.6%
0-14 years: 13.3%
Germany is the most populous European country and the second-biggest economy to make the list of the world's oldest populations.
The country has seen its 65 and over population increase from 19 percent in 2006 to 20 percent in 2010, while the young generation aged 0 to 14 has declined from 14 percent to 13 percent in the same period, according to the World Bank. The percentage of people aged 15 to 64 has gone down to 66 percent in 2010, compared to 69 percent two decades ago, in part explaining the labor shortage the country faces in some sectors. Eurostat predicts there will be less than two people of working age for every retired person in Germany by 2040.
While the European economic power maintains a healthy economy for now, having among the worst demographic stats in the world could lead to rising public spending and debt in years to come. Germany has nearly 2.3 million more women aged 65 and over compared to men. Despite women living longer, they also typically have smaller pension savings than men at retirement. On the whole, nearly 60 percent of Germans between the ages of 55 and 64 work, compared to just 40.7 percent of Greeks, according to EU statistics.
Japan. Photo: Ryouchin | Getty Images
2. Japan
Old/young ratio: 1.74:1
65 years & over: 22.9%
0-14 years: 13.1%
Japan is the largest economy to make the list of the world's oldest populations. It is also the only country outside of Europe in the rankings.
With the highest life expectancy in the world at 86, people aged 60 and over will account for over 43 percent of Japan's population by 2040, according to the GAP Index. Currently, one in four people are over the age of 65. On the other end, its population of people aged 15 to 64 fell four percentage points in the 10-year period from 2000 to 2010, while people aged up to 14 years fell two percentage points in the same period. Last year, the country made headlines when data showed that its population grew at its slowest pace since 1920 in the five years to 2010.
Slowing population growth indicates that Japan will find it more difficult to spread its debt burden and the rising costs of an aging society, among the working population. Japan is already the most indebted industrial nation with a public debt that is double its $5 trillion economy. Lonely elderly people have also become a growing social problem in the country. In 2010, 4.6 million elderly lived alone in Japan. The number of seniors that died at home alone increased by 61 percent between 2003 and 2010, according to official figures. In August, the government introduced measures for postmen to check up on people over 65 once a month by handing them seasonal greeting cards.
Monaco. Photo: Valery Hache | AFP | Getty Images
1. Monaco
Old/young ratio: 2.18:1
65 years & over: 26.9%
0-14 years: 2.18%
Monaco, one of the world's most densely populated countries, is home to the oldest population. It leads eight other European countries in the top 10 list. But the country is also a bit of a statistical anomaly because its status as a tax haven makes it a big draw for the wealthy and the retired rich.
With an estimated population of 30,539, the country saw its population decline in 2011 by 0.12 percent, according the to CIA Factbook. Only around 8,000 people are citizens of the city-state. The proportion of Monaco's population aged 65 and over is 26.9 percent, the highest in Western Europe, where the average is 16.5 percent, according to a 2011 study by research firm Euromonitor.
The median age of Monaco's population is 49.4 years, according to the CIA Factbook. With its older demographic, Monaco spent just 1.2 percent of its GDP in 2009 on education, according to the World Bank. In an effort to attract young professionals and entrepreneurs to boost its economy, Prince Albert launched a new consular
10. Latvia
Old/young ratio: 1.251:1
65 years & over: 16.9%
0-14 years: 13.5%
With one of the world's oldest populations, Latvia is expected to lose more than a tenth of its of 2.3 million people between 2000 and 2025 , according to the World Bank.
The Baltic state is also the only country on our top 10 list that has more than double the number of elderly women (252,000) than men (122,000). In fact, women live 10 years longer than men in Latvia, which is among the highest gaps in life expectancy between genders in the European Union, according to the United Nations. On the whole, the country has seen its population decline at a rate of 0.5 percent annually from 2006 to 2010, while the percentage of people aged 65 and over has steadily increased.
Not only is Latvia facing a rapidly aging population, the country's ability to support the old took a big hit during the 2009 financial crisis, when its economy suffered the deepest recession in the EU, nosediving 18 percent.
The government had to drastically cut its budget for a $10.2 billion bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and EU . The austerity measures, which sparked a strong reaction from protesters (pictured), included a 10 percent cut in old-age pensions, and a massive 70 percent reduction in pensions for those still working. Pensioners account for 25 percent of Latvia's population, while the labour force makes up only 43 percent, according to former Finance Ministry State Secretary Martins Bicevskis.
Photo: Christian Kober | Getty Images
9. Slovenia
Old/young ratio: 1.253:1
65 years & over: 16.8%
0-14 years: 13.4%
The retirement age in Slovenia is currently among the lowest in the EU, at 57 for women and 58 for men.
Part of the former Yugoslav republic, which was once considered a successful model for post-communist transition, is now facing a series of credit rating downgrades as its economy struggles with a high budget deficit, political instability and an expensive state pension system. Government reform to raise Slovenia's retirement age was rejected in a referendum in June of last year, dealing a major blow to the country's plans to control its ballooning public debt. The World Bank predicts the average age for Slovenia will be 47.4 years in 2025 — among the oldest in the world.
The rapidly aging population has been a big burden on Slovenia's budget. From 2003 to 2009, the average annual increase in health expenditure was 7.1 percent, while GDP growth in the same period was 5.9 percent , according to the government figures. In 2009 alone, the nominal health expenditure grew by 7.1 percent, while Slovenia's GDP contracted 5.3 percent. Despite the increase in health-care spending, Slovenia is still below the average for OECD countries. Total health spending accounted for 9.3 percent of its GDP, compared to average of 9.5 percent in OECD countries in 2009.
Sweden. Photo: Jonathan Nackstrand | AFP | Getty Images
8. Sweden
Old/young ratio: 1.27:1
65 years & over: 19.7%
0-14 years: 15.4%
Sweden is the only country in Scandinavia, a region heralded for its quality of life, to make the top 10 list of the world's oldest populations.
The country's elderly population has steadily increased from 17 percent of the total population in 2006 to 18 percent in 2010, while its population of people aged up to 14 years has remained at 17 percent since 2005, according to the World Bank. Seniors will account for nearly 30 percent of the Swedish population by 2040, according the Global Aging Preparedness (GAP) Index. But, despite its aging population, a recent study by asset management firm Allianz Global Investors showed that Sweden has the second-most sustainable pension system out of 44 major economies, thanks to a highly developed and privately funded system which lessens the burden on public finances. Swedes contribute 18.5 percent of their income to the national pension system.
In December, the government pledged $617 million over the next few years to improve elderly care after a series of highly publicized senior care scandals in recent months. An IMF study from June 2011 has ranked Sweden as the 7th country out of the world's 20 major economies to have the best living standard for the elderly.
Austria. Photo: Westend61 | Getty Images
7. Austria
Old/young ratio: 1.3:1
65 years & over: 18.2%
0-14 years: 14%
Austria's population has the fifth-highest percentage of people aged 65 and over in the world, tied with European counterparts Sweden, Portugal, Latvia and Bulgaria, according to the World Bank.
The country's 65 and over population has gone up from 16 percent of the total population in 2006 to 18 percent in 2010, while its population of people aged 14 and under has declined from 16 percent to 15 percent in the same period. Public pension spending was 12.3 percent of Austria's GDP in 2008, over 5 percent higher than in the average of OECD countries. Austria also has only 3.5 people of working age for every person aged 65 and over, which is below the OECD average of 4.2 workers.
Men in Austria can currently retire as early as 62, while women can retire at 57. There are nearly 245,000 more women aged 65 and over in the country than men, according to the CIA Factbook. The OECD warned Austria last year that the country needs to cut government debt by curbing early retirement and eliminating early pensions. Last week, the country lost its top-notch credit rating, when it was downgraded by Standard & Poor's to AA+.
Bulgaria. Photo: Dimitar Dilkoff | AFP | Getty Images
6. Bulgaria
Old/ young ratio: 1.31:1
65 years & over: 18.2%
0-14 years: 13.9%
Bulgaria is one of three Eastern European countries to make the list of the world's 10 oldest populations. It is also one of only 16 countries in the world that saw their populations decline by more than 5,000 people between 2000 and 2005, according to the World Bank.
Bulgaria's elderly population increased from 17 percent in 2006 to 18 percent in 2010, while its young population aged up to 14 years has remained steady at 14 percent of the total population since 2003, according to the World Bank. By 2025, more than one in five Bulgarians will be older than 65, up from just 13 percent in 1990.
With its rapidly aging population, the Bulgarian government raised the official retirement age by four months starting this year for every year until it reaches 63 for women and 65 for men, up from 60 and 63 respectively. The government backtracked from plans to raise the retirement age by one year in 2012 after thousands of workers stormed through the capital in protest . For its 2.5 million workers, Bulgaria has 2.2 million retired people. It is also the poorest member of the EU, with the lowest GDP per capita, according to Eurostat.
Greece. Photo: Louisa Gouliamaki | AFP | Getty Images
5. Greece
Old/young ratio: 1.38:1
65 years & over: 19.6%
0-14 years: 14.2%
Greece has the world's weakest pension system, crippled by high levels of sovereign debt, low retirement ages and a high ratio of pensioners to workers, according a recent study by Allianz Global Investors.
The country's population of people aged 65 and over has increased from 18 percent in 2006 to 19 percent in 2010, while the group of people aged between 15 and 64 has remained at 67 percent since 2004, according to the World Bank. With nearly one-quarter of Greece's 11 million people retired, pension payments are a major burden on the economy, which is being kept afloat by the EU and IMF bailout funds.
The country made headlines last year for welfare fraud when the government revealed that thousands of dead Greeks were still receiving pensions . Data in June showed that 4,500 deceased civil servants continued to receive pension payments, costing the taxpayer $20.5 million a year. Pressured by international lenders, the country has been forced to make sweeping reforms of its pension system. Now, fewer than 10 percent of Greeks can retire before 65. In 2010, some Greeks could retire as early as 40 years of age on a reduced pension.
Italy. Photo: Giorgio Cosulich | Getty Images
4. Italy
Old/young ratio: 1.47:1
65 years & over: 20.3%
0-14 years: 13.8%
People over the age of 60 will make up a whopping 40 percent of Italy's population by 2040 compared to over 25 percent in 2007, according the GAP Index.
The country has seen its elderly population remain at 20 percent from 2005 to 2010, while the younger population of people aged 0 to 14 years hasn't grown since 1999, remaining at 14 percent. Italy's public spending on pensions is the highest in the EU, at over 16 percent of GDP compared to an average of 11 percent for the bloc.
Once considered one of the most generous pension systems in Europe, Italy's government took a hatchet to the current scheme by announcing a series of austerity measures to reform the welfare system in December . The country has one of the lowest employment rates in the region, in part because people retire long before the European average. Only 37.4 percent of Italians aged 55 to 64 still work, compared to an EU average of 47.5 percent. The new measures would see the minimum pension age for both men and women raised in stages to 66 by 2018 with incentives to keep workers employed until 70.
Germany. Photo: Thomas Grass | Getty Images
3. Germany
Old/young ratio: 1.54:1
65 years & over: 20.6%
0-14 years: 13.3%
Germany is the most populous European country and the second-biggest economy to make the list of the world's oldest populations.
The country has seen its 65 and over population increase from 19 percent in 2006 to 20 percent in 2010, while the young generation aged 0 to 14 has declined from 14 percent to 13 percent in the same period, according to the World Bank. The percentage of people aged 15 to 64 has gone down to 66 percent in 2010, compared to 69 percent two decades ago, in part explaining the labor shortage the country faces in some sectors. Eurostat predicts there will be less than two people of working age for every retired person in Germany by 2040.
While the European economic power maintains a healthy economy for now, having among the worst demographic stats in the world could lead to rising public spending and debt in years to come. Germany has nearly 2.3 million more women aged 65 and over compared to men. Despite women living longer, they also typically have smaller pension savings than men at retirement. On the whole, nearly 60 percent of Germans between the ages of 55 and 64 work, compared to just 40.7 percent of Greeks, according to EU statistics.
Japan. Photo: Ryouchin | Getty Images
2. Japan
Old/young ratio: 1.74:1
65 years & over: 22.9%
0-14 years: 13.1%
Japan is the largest economy to make the list of the world's oldest populations. It is also the only country outside of Europe in the rankings.
With the highest life expectancy in the world at 86, people aged 60 and over will account for over 43 percent of Japan's population by 2040, according to the GAP Index. Currently, one in four people are over the age of 65. On the other end, its population of people aged 15 to 64 fell four percentage points in the 10-year period from 2000 to 2010, while people aged up to 14 years fell two percentage points in the same period. Last year, the country made headlines when data showed that its population grew at its slowest pace since 1920 in the five years to 2010.
Slowing population growth indicates that Japan will find it more difficult to spread its debt burden and the rising costs of an aging society, among the working population. Japan is already the most indebted industrial nation with a public debt that is double its $5 trillion economy. Lonely elderly people have also become a growing social problem in the country. In 2010, 4.6 million elderly lived alone in Japan. The number of seniors that died at home alone increased by 61 percent between 2003 and 2010, according to official figures. In August, the government introduced measures for postmen to check up on people over 65 once a month by handing them seasonal greeting cards.
Monaco. Photo: Valery Hache | AFP | Getty Images
1. Monaco
Old/young ratio: 2.18:1
65 years & over: 26.9%
0-14 years: 2.18%
Monaco, one of the world's most densely populated countries, is home to the oldest population. It leads eight other European countries in the top 10 list. But the country is also a bit of a statistical anomaly because its status as a tax haven makes it a big draw for the wealthy and the retired rich.
With an estimated population of 30,539, the country saw its population decline in 2011 by 0.12 percent, according the to CIA Factbook. Only around 8,000 people are citizens of the city-state. The proportion of Monaco's population aged 65 and over is 26.9 percent, the highest in Western Europe, where the average is 16.5 percent, according to a 2011 study by research firm Euromonitor.
The median age of Monaco's population is 49.4 years, according to the CIA Factbook. With its older demographic, Monaco spent just 1.2 percent of its GDP in 2009 on education, according to the World Bank. In an effort to attract young professionals and entrepreneurs to boost its economy, Prince Albert launched a new consular
service to attract British citizens into the country in 2007.
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http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/countries-aging-populations-070947847.html
This demographic change has major implications for the global economy. Some of the world's biggest economies are facing rising health-care costs, a shrinking workforce, higher pension costs and diminishing fertility rates. Many countries have already begun adapting to their increasingly aging populations by raising the retirement age, reducing pension benefits and spending more on elderly care.
We've come up with a list of countries with the starkest gap between the number of old and the number of young. We calculated the number of people aged 65 and older for every person 14 years and younger. We've also provided statistics on the percentage of the total population aged 65 and above as well as the percentage aged 14 years and below.
The population numbers are from the CIA World Factbook, while we used organizations such as the World Bank, United Nations (UN), and International Monetary Fund (IMF) to illustrate demographic trends.
So, which countries have the biggest gap between old and young? Click ahead to find out
10. Latvia
Old/young ratio: 1.251:1
65 years & over: 16.9%
0-14 years: 13.5%
With one of the world's oldest populations, Latvia is expected to lose more than a tenth of its of 2.3 million people between 2000 and 2025 , according to the World Bank.
The Baltic state is also the only country on our top 10 list that has more than double the number of elderly women (252,000) than men (122,000). In fact, women live 10 years longer than men in Latvia, which is among the highest gaps in life expectancy between genders in the European Union, according to the United Nations. On the whole, the country has seen its population decline at a rate of 0.5 percent annually from 2006 to 2010, while the percentage of people aged 65 and over has steadily increased.
Not only is Latvia facing a rapidly aging population, the country's ability to support the old took a big hit during the 2009 financial crisis, when its economy suffered the deepest recession in the EU, nosediving 18 percent.
The government had to drastically cut its budget for a $10.2 billion bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and EU . The austerity measures, which sparked a strong reaction from protesters (pictured), included a 10 percent cut in old-age pensions, and a massive 70 percent reduction in pensions for those still working. Pensioners account for 25 percent of Latvia's population, while the labour force makes up only 43 percent, according to former Finance Ministry State Secretary Martins Bicevskis.
Photo: Christian Kober | Getty Images
9. Slovenia
Old/young ratio: 1.253:1
65 years & over: 16.8%
0-14 years: 13.4%
The retirement age in Slovenia is currently among the lowest in the EU, at 57 for women and 58 for men.
Part of the former Yugoslav republic, which was once considered a successful model for post-communist transition, is now facing a series of credit rating downgrades as its economy struggles with a high budget deficit, political instability and an expensive state pension system. Government reform to raise Slovenia's retirement age was rejected in a referendum in June of last year, dealing a major blow to the country's plans to control its ballooning public debt. The World Bank predicts the average age for Slovenia will be 47.4 years in 2025 — among the oldest in the world.
The rapidly aging population has been a big burden on Slovenia's budget. From 2003 to 2009, the average annual increase in health expenditure was 7.1 percent, while GDP growth in the same period was 5.9 percent , according to the government figures. In 2009 alone, the nominal health expenditure grew by 7.1 percent, while Slovenia's GDP contracted 5.3 percent. Despite the increase in health-care spending, Slovenia is still below the average for OECD countries. Total health spending accounted for 9.3 percent of its GDP, compared to average of 9.5 percent in OECD countries in 2009.
Sweden. Photo: Jonathan Nackstrand | AFP | Getty Images
8. Sweden
Old/young ratio: 1.27:1
65 years & over: 19.7%
0-14 years: 15.4%
Sweden is the only country in Scandinavia, a region heralded for its quality of life, to make the top 10 list of the world's oldest populations.
The country's elderly population has steadily increased from 17 percent of the total population in 2006 to 18 percent in 2010, while its population of people aged up to 14 years has remained at 17 percent since 2005, according to the World Bank. Seniors will account for nearly 30 percent of the Swedish population by 2040, according the Global Aging Preparedness (GAP) Index. But, despite its aging population, a recent study by asset management firm Allianz Global Investors showed that Sweden has the second-most sustainable pension system out of 44 major economies, thanks to a highly developed and privately funded system which lessens the burden on public finances. Swedes contribute 18.5 percent of their income to the national pension system.
In December, the government pledged $617 million over the next few years to improve elderly care after a series of highly publicized senior care scandals in recent months. An IMF study from June 2011 has ranked Sweden as the 7th country out of the world's 20 major economies to have the best living standard for the elderly.
Austria. Photo: Westend61 | Getty Images
7. Austria
Old/young ratio: 1.3:1
65 years & over: 18.2%
0-14 years: 14%
Austria's population has the fifth-highest percentage of people aged 65 and over in the world, tied with European counterparts Sweden, Portugal, Latvia and Bulgaria, according to the World Bank.
The country's 65 and over population has gone up from 16 percent of the total population in 2006 to 18 percent in 2010, while its population of people aged 14 and under has declined from 16 percent to 15 percent in the same period. Public pension spending was 12.3 percent of Austria's GDP in 2008, over 5 percent higher than in the average of OECD countries. Austria also has only 3.5 people of working age for every person aged 65 and over, which is below the OECD average of 4.2 workers.
Men in Austria can currently retire as early as 62, while women can retire at 57. There are nearly 245,000 more women aged 65 and over in the country than men, according to the CIA Factbook. The OECD warned Austria last year that the country needs to cut government debt by curbing early retirement and eliminating early pensions. Last week, the country lost its top-notch credit rating, when it was downgraded by Standard & Poor's to AA+.
Bulgaria. Photo: Dimitar Dilkoff | AFP | Getty Images
6. Bulgaria
Old/ young ratio: 1.31:1
65 years & over: 18.2%
0-14 years: 13.9%
Bulgaria is one of three Eastern European countries to make the list of the world's 10 oldest populations. It is also one of only 16 countries in the world that saw their populations decline by more than 5,000 people between 2000 and 2005, according to the World Bank.
Bulgaria's elderly population increased from 17 percent in 2006 to 18 percent in 2010, while its young population aged up to 14 years has remained steady at 14 percent of the total population since 2003, according to the World Bank. By 2025, more than one in five Bulgarians will be older than 65, up from just 13 percent in 1990.
With its rapidly aging population, the Bulgarian government raised the official retirement age by four months starting this year for every year until it reaches 63 for women and 65 for men, up from 60 and 63 respectively. The government backtracked from plans to raise the retirement age by one year in 2012 after thousands of workers stormed through the capital in protest . For its 2.5 million workers, Bulgaria has 2.2 million retired people. It is also the poorest member of the EU, with the lowest GDP per capita, according to Eurostat.
Greece. Photo: Louisa Gouliamaki | AFP | Getty Images
5. Greece
Old/young ratio: 1.38:1
65 years & over: 19.6%
0-14 years: 14.2%
Greece has the world's weakest pension system, crippled by high levels of sovereign debt, low retirement ages and a high ratio of pensioners to workers, according a recent study by Allianz Global Investors.
The country's population of people aged 65 and over has increased from 18 percent in 2006 to 19 percent in 2010, while the group of people aged between 15 and 64 has remained at 67 percent since 2004, according to the World Bank. With nearly one-quarter of Greece's 11 million people retired, pension payments are a major burden on the economy, which is being kept afloat by the EU and IMF bailout funds.
The country made headlines last year for welfare fraud when the government revealed that thousands of dead Greeks were still receiving pensions . Data in June showed that 4,500 deceased civil servants continued to receive pension payments, costing the taxpayer $20.5 million a year. Pressured by international lenders, the country has been forced to make sweeping reforms of its pension system. Now, fewer than 10 percent of Greeks can retire before 65. In 2010, some Greeks could retire as early as 40 years of age on a reduced pension.
Italy. Photo: Giorgio Cosulich | Getty Images
4. Italy
Old/young ratio: 1.47:1
65 years & over: 20.3%
0-14 years: 13.8%
People over the age of 60 will make up a whopping 40 percent of Italy's population by 2040 compared to over 25 percent in 2007, according the GAP Index.
The country has seen its elderly population remain at 20 percent from 2005 to 2010, while the younger population of people aged 0 to 14 years hasn't grown since 1999, remaining at 14 percent. Italy's public spending on pensions is the highest in the EU, at over 16 percent of GDP compared to an average of 11 percent for the bloc.
Once considered one of the most generous pension systems in Europe, Italy's government took a hatchet to the current scheme by announcing a series of austerity measures to reform the welfare system in December . The country has one of the lowest employment rates in the region, in part because people retire long before the European average. Only 37.4 percent of Italians aged 55 to 64 still work, compared to an EU average of 47.5 percent. The new measures would see the minimum pension age for both men and women raised in stages to 66 by 2018 with incentives to keep workers employed until 70.
Germany. Photo: Thomas Grass | Getty Images
3. Germany
Old/young ratio: 1.54:1
65 years & over: 20.6%
0-14 years: 13.3%
Germany is the most populous European country and the second-biggest economy to make the list of the world's oldest populations.
The country has seen its 65 and over population increase from 19 percent in 2006 to 20 percent in 2010, while the young generation aged 0 to 14 has declined from 14 percent to 13 percent in the same period, according to the World Bank. The percentage of people aged 15 to 64 has gone down to 66 percent in 2010, compared to 69 percent two decades ago, in part explaining the labor shortage the country faces in some sectors. Eurostat predicts there will be less than two people of working age for every retired person in Germany by 2040.
While the European economic power maintains a healthy economy for now, having among the worst demographic stats in the world could lead to rising public spending and debt in years to come. Germany has nearly 2.3 million more women aged 65 and over compared to men. Despite women living longer, they also typically have smaller pension savings than men at retirement. On the whole, nearly 60 percent of Germans between the ages of 55 and 64 work, compared to just 40.7 percent of Greeks, according to EU statistics.
Japan. Photo: Ryouchin | Getty Images
2. Japan
Old/young ratio: 1.74:1
65 years & over: 22.9%
0-14 years: 13.1%
Japan is the largest economy to make the list of the world's oldest populations. It is also the only country outside of Europe in the rankings.
With the highest life expectancy in the world at 86, people aged 60 and over will account for over 43 percent of Japan's population by 2040, according to the GAP Index. Currently, one in four people are over the age of 65. On the other end, its population of people aged 15 to 64 fell four percentage points in the 10-year period from 2000 to 2010, while people aged up to 14 years fell two percentage points in the same period. Last year, the country made headlines when data showed that its population grew at its slowest pace since 1920 in the five years to 2010.
Slowing population growth indicates that Japan will find it more difficult to spread its debt burden and the rising costs of an aging society, among the working population. Japan is already the most indebted industrial nation with a public debt that is double its $5 trillion economy. Lonely elderly people have also become a growing social problem in the country. In 2010, 4.6 million elderly lived alone in Japan. The number of seniors that died at home alone increased by 61 percent between 2003 and 2010, according to official figures. In August, the government introduced measures for postmen to check up on people over 65 once a month by handing them seasonal greeting cards.
Monaco. Photo: Valery Hache | AFP | Getty Images
1. Monaco
Old/young ratio: 2.18:1
65 years & over: 26.9%
0-14 years: 2.18%
Monaco, one of the world's most densely populated countries, is home to the oldest population. It leads eight other European countries in the top 10 list. But the country is also a bit of a statistical anomaly because its status as a tax haven makes it a big draw for the wealthy and the retired rich.
With an estimated population of 30,539, the country saw its population decline in 2011 by 0.12 percent, according the to CIA Factbook. Only around 8,000 people are citizens of the city-state. The proportion of Monaco's population aged 65 and over is 26.9 percent, the highest in Western Europe, where the average is 16.5 percent, according to a 2011 study by research firm Euromonitor.
The median age of Monaco's population is 49.4 years, according to the CIA Factbook. With its older demographic, Monaco spent just 1.2 percent of its GDP in 2009 on education, according to the World Bank. In an effort to attract young professionals and entrepreneurs to boost its economy, Prince Albert launched a new consular
10. Latvia
Old/young ratio: 1.251:1
65 years & over: 16.9%
0-14 years: 13.5%
With one of the world's oldest populations, Latvia is expected to lose more than a tenth of its of 2.3 million people between 2000 and 2025 , according to the World Bank.
The Baltic state is also the only country on our top 10 list that has more than double the number of elderly women (252,000) than men (122,000). In fact, women live 10 years longer than men in Latvia, which is among the highest gaps in life expectancy between genders in the European Union, according to the United Nations. On the whole, the country has seen its population decline at a rate of 0.5 percent annually from 2006 to 2010, while the percentage of people aged 65 and over has steadily increased.
Not only is Latvia facing a rapidly aging population, the country's ability to support the old took a big hit during the 2009 financial crisis, when its economy suffered the deepest recession in the EU, nosediving 18 percent.
The government had to drastically cut its budget for a $10.2 billion bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and EU . The austerity measures, which sparked a strong reaction from protesters (pictured), included a 10 percent cut in old-age pensions, and a massive 70 percent reduction in pensions for those still working. Pensioners account for 25 percent of Latvia's population, while the labour force makes up only 43 percent, according to former Finance Ministry State Secretary Martins Bicevskis.
Photo: Christian Kober | Getty Images
9. Slovenia
Old/young ratio: 1.253:1
65 years & over: 16.8%
0-14 years: 13.4%
The retirement age in Slovenia is currently among the lowest in the EU, at 57 for women and 58 for men.
Part of the former Yugoslav republic, which was once considered a successful model for post-communist transition, is now facing a series of credit rating downgrades as its economy struggles with a high budget deficit, political instability and an expensive state pension system. Government reform to raise Slovenia's retirement age was rejected in a referendum in June of last year, dealing a major blow to the country's plans to control its ballooning public debt. The World Bank predicts the average age for Slovenia will be 47.4 years in 2025 — among the oldest in the world.
The rapidly aging population has been a big burden on Slovenia's budget. From 2003 to 2009, the average annual increase in health expenditure was 7.1 percent, while GDP growth in the same period was 5.9 percent , according to the government figures. In 2009 alone, the nominal health expenditure grew by 7.1 percent, while Slovenia's GDP contracted 5.3 percent. Despite the increase in health-care spending, Slovenia is still below the average for OECD countries. Total health spending accounted for 9.3 percent of its GDP, compared to average of 9.5 percent in OECD countries in 2009.
Sweden. Photo: Jonathan Nackstrand | AFP | Getty Images
8. Sweden
Old/young ratio: 1.27:1
65 years & over: 19.7%
0-14 years: 15.4%
Sweden is the only country in Scandinavia, a region heralded for its quality of life, to make the top 10 list of the world's oldest populations.
The country's elderly population has steadily increased from 17 percent of the total population in 2006 to 18 percent in 2010, while its population of people aged up to 14 years has remained at 17 percent since 2005, according to the World Bank. Seniors will account for nearly 30 percent of the Swedish population by 2040, according the Global Aging Preparedness (GAP) Index. But, despite its aging population, a recent study by asset management firm Allianz Global Investors showed that Sweden has the second-most sustainable pension system out of 44 major economies, thanks to a highly developed and privately funded system which lessens the burden on public finances. Swedes contribute 18.5 percent of their income to the national pension system.
In December, the government pledged $617 million over the next few years to improve elderly care after a series of highly publicized senior care scandals in recent months. An IMF study from June 2011 has ranked Sweden as the 7th country out of the world's 20 major economies to have the best living standard for the elderly.
Austria. Photo: Westend61 | Getty Images
7. Austria
Old/young ratio: 1.3:1
65 years & over: 18.2%
0-14 years: 14%
Austria's population has the fifth-highest percentage of people aged 65 and over in the world, tied with European counterparts Sweden, Portugal, Latvia and Bulgaria, according to the World Bank.
The country's 65 and over population has gone up from 16 percent of the total population in 2006 to 18 percent in 2010, while its population of people aged 14 and under has declined from 16 percent to 15 percent in the same period. Public pension spending was 12.3 percent of Austria's GDP in 2008, over 5 percent higher than in the average of OECD countries. Austria also has only 3.5 people of working age for every person aged 65 and over, which is below the OECD average of 4.2 workers.
Men in Austria can currently retire as early as 62, while women can retire at 57. There are nearly 245,000 more women aged 65 and over in the country than men, according to the CIA Factbook. The OECD warned Austria last year that the country needs to cut government debt by curbing early retirement and eliminating early pensions. Last week, the country lost its top-notch credit rating, when it was downgraded by Standard & Poor's to AA+.
Bulgaria. Photo: Dimitar Dilkoff | AFP | Getty Images
6. Bulgaria
Old/ young ratio: 1.31:1
65 years & over: 18.2%
0-14 years: 13.9%
Bulgaria is one of three Eastern European countries to make the list of the world's 10 oldest populations. It is also one of only 16 countries in the world that saw their populations decline by more than 5,000 people between 2000 and 2005, according to the World Bank.
Bulgaria's elderly population increased from 17 percent in 2006 to 18 percent in 2010, while its young population aged up to 14 years has remained steady at 14 percent of the total population since 2003, according to the World Bank. By 2025, more than one in five Bulgarians will be older than 65, up from just 13 percent in 1990.
With its rapidly aging population, the Bulgarian government raised the official retirement age by four months starting this year for every year until it reaches 63 for women and 65 for men, up from 60 and 63 respectively. The government backtracked from plans to raise the retirement age by one year in 2012 after thousands of workers stormed through the capital in protest . For its 2.5 million workers, Bulgaria has 2.2 million retired people. It is also the poorest member of the EU, with the lowest GDP per capita, according to Eurostat.
Greece. Photo: Louisa Gouliamaki | AFP | Getty Images
5. Greece
Old/young ratio: 1.38:1
65 years & over: 19.6%
0-14 years: 14.2%
Greece has the world's weakest pension system, crippled by high levels of sovereign debt, low retirement ages and a high ratio of pensioners to workers, according a recent study by Allianz Global Investors.
The country's population of people aged 65 and over has increased from 18 percent in 2006 to 19 percent in 2010, while the group of people aged between 15 and 64 has remained at 67 percent since 2004, according to the World Bank. With nearly one-quarter of Greece's 11 million people retired, pension payments are a major burden on the economy, which is being kept afloat by the EU and IMF bailout funds.
The country made headlines last year for welfare fraud when the government revealed that thousands of dead Greeks were still receiving pensions . Data in June showed that 4,500 deceased civil servants continued to receive pension payments, costing the taxpayer $20.5 million a year. Pressured by international lenders, the country has been forced to make sweeping reforms of its pension system. Now, fewer than 10 percent of Greeks can retire before 65. In 2010, some Greeks could retire as early as 40 years of age on a reduced pension.
Italy. Photo: Giorgio Cosulich | Getty Images
4. Italy
Old/young ratio: 1.47:1
65 years & over: 20.3%
0-14 years: 13.8%
People over the age of 60 will make up a whopping 40 percent of Italy's population by 2040 compared to over 25 percent in 2007, according the GAP Index.
The country has seen its elderly population remain at 20 percent from 2005 to 2010, while the younger population of people aged 0 to 14 years hasn't grown since 1999, remaining at 14 percent. Italy's public spending on pensions is the highest in the EU, at over 16 percent of GDP compared to an average of 11 percent for the bloc.
Once considered one of the most generous pension systems in Europe, Italy's government took a hatchet to the current scheme by announcing a series of austerity measures to reform the welfare system in December . The country has one of the lowest employment rates in the region, in part because people retire long before the European average. Only 37.4 percent of Italians aged 55 to 64 still work, compared to an EU average of 47.5 percent. The new measures would see the minimum pension age for both men and women raised in stages to 66 by 2018 with incentives to keep workers employed until 70.
Germany. Photo: Thomas Grass | Getty Images
3. Germany
Old/young ratio: 1.54:1
65 years & over: 20.6%
0-14 years: 13.3%
Germany is the most populous European country and the second-biggest economy to make the list of the world's oldest populations.
The country has seen its 65 and over population increase from 19 percent in 2006 to 20 percent in 2010, while the young generation aged 0 to 14 has declined from 14 percent to 13 percent in the same period, according to the World Bank. The percentage of people aged 15 to 64 has gone down to 66 percent in 2010, compared to 69 percent two decades ago, in part explaining the labor shortage the country faces in some sectors. Eurostat predicts there will be less than two people of working age for every retired person in Germany by 2040.
While the European economic power maintains a healthy economy for now, having among the worst demographic stats in the world could lead to rising public spending and debt in years to come. Germany has nearly 2.3 million more women aged 65 and over compared to men. Despite women living longer, they also typically have smaller pension savings than men at retirement. On the whole, nearly 60 percent of Germans between the ages of 55 and 64 work, compared to just 40.7 percent of Greeks, according to EU statistics.
Japan. Photo: Ryouchin | Getty Images
2. Japan
Old/young ratio: 1.74:1
65 years & over: 22.9%
0-14 years: 13.1%
Japan is the largest economy to make the list of the world's oldest populations. It is also the only country outside of Europe in the rankings.
With the highest life expectancy in the world at 86, people aged 60 and over will account for over 43 percent of Japan's population by 2040, according to the GAP Index. Currently, one in four people are over the age of 65. On the other end, its population of people aged 15 to 64 fell four percentage points in the 10-year period from 2000 to 2010, while people aged up to 14 years fell two percentage points in the same period. Last year, the country made headlines when data showed that its population grew at its slowest pace since 1920 in the five years to 2010.
Slowing population growth indicates that Japan will find it more difficult to spread its debt burden and the rising costs of an aging society, among the working population. Japan is already the most indebted industrial nation with a public debt that is double its $5 trillion economy. Lonely elderly people have also become a growing social problem in the country. In 2010, 4.6 million elderly lived alone in Japan. The number of seniors that died at home alone increased by 61 percent between 2003 and 2010, according to official figures. In August, the government introduced measures for postmen to check up on people over 65 once a month by handing them seasonal greeting cards.
Monaco. Photo: Valery Hache | AFP | Getty Images
1. Monaco
Old/young ratio: 2.18:1
65 years & over: 26.9%
0-14 years: 2.18%
Monaco, one of the world's most densely populated countries, is home to the oldest population. It leads eight other European countries in the top 10 list. But the country is also a bit of a statistical anomaly because its status as a tax haven makes it a big draw for the wealthy and the retired rich.
With an estimated population of 30,539, the country saw its population decline in 2011 by 0.12 percent, according the to CIA Factbook. Only around 8,000 people are citizens of the city-state. The proportion of Monaco's population aged 65 and over is 26.9 percent, the highest in Western Europe, where the average is 16.5 percent, according to a 2011 study by research firm Euromonitor.
The median age of Monaco's population is 49.4 years, according to the CIA Factbook. With its older demographic, Monaco spent just 1.2 percent of its GDP in 2009 on education, according to the World Bank. In an effort to attract young professionals and entrepreneurs to boost its economy, Prince Albert launched a new consular
service to attract British citizens into the country in 2007.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/46010334?slide=2
http://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/countries-aging-populations-070947847.html
Saturday, January 28, 2012
‘The missing piece in a smart government’
It was a memorable and bold moment in Singapore journalism. Earlier this week, a dogged reporter's patience and persistence combined with a brave editor's decision to throw caution to the wind ended in an exclusive that brought back memories of the good old days of old-fashioned reporting — and put the government in an embarrassing spot.
The Chinese evening newspaper, Lianhe Wanbao, went ahead with a report on the corruption investigations into the activities of two top public service officers — Singapore Civil Defence Force chief Peter Lim Sin Pang and Central Narcotics Bureau chief Ng Boon Gay — without a government confirmation. It named names and gave details, like the involvement of a woman in the scandal, knowing fully well that there was a chance — a very small chance, maybe — that it could get some important details wrong.
When the government statement came — on the same day but after the paper had published the report — the news had already caught fire with the on-line world hammering out posts and reports and raising pointed issues that ranged from transparency to arrogance.
The most damaging statement, unintended though it was, came from the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau. In response to media queries, it said that the narcotics man was arrested on Dec 19 and the civil defence boss on Jan 4, many days before the government put out its statement on Jan 24.
It was too long a lapse and was made worse by the rapid-fire news cycle punishing even those who take a couple of hours to come out with its side of the story.
Why this long delay?
In response to a query by The Straits Times, the government said the investigations are continuing and "it is only fair that we accord the officers assisting with investigations a fair hearing in accordance with the civil service disciplinary process and the law."
It is understandable that you want to give those involved, especially when the investigations are still on-going, a good shot at fair play. That occasion passed when the two were arrested. That was the moment when officialdom should have bitten the bullet and said: The tipping point has been reached. And we have to go public with the story.
But it remained silent until the unlikeliest of sources — the traditional media, fed by a regular diet of press releases and official speeches — put the story in the public domain.
The end result: A government caught with its back against the wall and in a reactive mode.
High pay and low corruption
When the Parliamentary debate on political salaries took place from Jan 16 to 18, the one critical point that never came up was that of a clean Cabinet and civil service. The silence on this issue was understandable because corruption in high places in government is extremely rare. But this new development, where two very senior public service officials were under investigation for "serious personal misconduct", could have been brought up and could have added a new dimension to the debate.
The salary-corruption link is important. High pay was one way to discourage officials from wanting to have their palms greased. Lee Kuan Yew highlighted
that point when he pushed vigorously for top salaries. No reasonable-minded Singaporean would have expected a corrupt-free public service, even with high pay; those who want to get round the laws will always find loopholes to exploit.
But you can make sure that corruption cases are as rare as possible. And that corrupt officials, once exposed, will face the full brunt of the law.
Even ministers have not been spared. Former National Development Minister Teh Cheang Wan, who was praised by Lee Kuan Yew a number of times, chose to end his life when he faced the heat of an unyielding group of anti-corruption officers way back in the 1980s.
Making the CPIB report directly to the PMO gives them the latitude and freedom to investigate even the high and mighty without too many encumbrances.
All these could have made the Parliamentary debate more meaningful and relevant. But an opportunity to explain the historical backdrop and context to Singapore's war on corruption was lost.
The ruling party kept silent; so did the Opposition. I am more inclined to sympathise with the members of the Opposition because there was no way for them to have information on the latest investigations.
Lessons not learnt
Since GE 2011, the government seems to be on its backfoot with communication blunders becoming a regular occurrence. From the Mas Selamat case (official statement was issued four hours after the terrorist escaped from the Internal Security Department's detention centre) to the wrong signatures on YOG appreciation certificates (Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said that it was an embarrassment but not a disaster) to the PAP's electoral defeat in Aljunied (Lee Kuan Yew warned residents that they will repent if Opposition won), it is clear that the government has yet to get a handle on how to communicate effectively in a new world.
That is really strange. This is not a stupid government, it has done a lot of good things for its people, it is respected overseas and its model of governance is highly sought after.
Yet, one of the basic attributes of a smart government -- squaring with its citizens and carrying them along -- seems to be missing.
P N Balji
[UPDATED 28 Jan, 9am, with reax from DPM Teo, PSC probe details]
No one is above the law.
PM Lee on CPIB probe: We’ll pursue and settle matter one way or another
By Jeanette Tan
That was the clear message that rang out from Davos, Switzerland, where Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is attending a meeting of the G20-countries.
Speaking to local media there, PM Lee said in no uncertain terms on Friday morning that his government will follow through on Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) investigations into the alleged misconduct by top public officials Peter Lim and Ng Boon Gay. Lim is ex-Singapore Civil Defence Force Commissioner while Ng used to lead the Central Narcotics Bureau.
“Whoever he is, whichever position he occupies, we will pursue the matter and settle it one way or another,” PM Lee was quoted as saying in The Straits Times.
“If he did wrong, he must be punished,” he continued. “If he did nothing wrong, he must be exonerated.”
It was the Singapore leader's first comments on the high-profile CPIB probe which has gripped the nation.
Separately, Deputy PM Teo Chee Hean also said he was "quite disappointed these two cases had arisen."
Speaking on the sidelines of a Chinese New Year event in Singapore late on Friday, DPM Teo was quoted in The Straits Times that "nevertheless, it does demonstrate the strength of our system, which is that any such allegations will be fully and thoroughly investigated."
It has since also emerged that the two former chiefs of the CPIB and CNB -- both high-flying public service officers and former government scholarship holders -- are also facing disciplinary action by the Public Service Commission (PSC), reported ST.
Earlier on Friday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) also said there was “no delay” in releasing news of the CPIB probe to the public.
The MHA has been under scrutiny for why news of the probe was only made public after Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao broke the story earlier this week on 24 Jan.
But in a statement issued Friday afternoon, the MHA said that it is “normal procedure” for people to be arrested if the CPIB suspected they had committed an offence. The arrested individual can also be released on bail, although he or she will be required to return for further investigation, it added.
“At that point in time (when Ng and Lim were arrested, released on bail and placed on leave), it was premature to make any announcement as CPIB investigations had just started and the outcome was not known,” the statement said. “Furthermore, a public announcement at that point could compromise CPIB investigations,” it added.
The MHA explained it was only on 20 January that the CPIB informed them that they had found sufficient basis for the ministry to consider civil service disciplinary action for misconduct.
They then relieved them of their duties and started disciplinary action five days later, appointing replacements Eric Yap and Ng Ser Song to Lim’s and Ng’s respective posts.
MHA said it had planned to make news of the probe public on 25 January, but ended up advancing its media release a day earlier after the Chinese daily broke the story on Tuesday.
“Due process has to be followed to facilitate investigations, to be fair to officers accused, and to avoid prejudicing any legal or disciplinary proceedings,” the MHA said.
Meanwhile, more information has emerged about the still-unidentified female IT executive who is believed to be involved with Ng and Lim.
The two top-ranking public officials currently being investigated by the CPIB are believed to have on separate occasions had sex with the 36-year-old woman, reported The Straits Times (ST). All three, the paper stated, are married, and Ng and Lim are believed to have both admitted during questioning to having improper relationships with a woman.
The broadsheet reported that the woman was a sales director at a Japanese multinational company that provides business-scale IT storage systems, but moved to an American software firm about six months ago. The woman’s friends and contacts also told the paper that she is “tall, slim, long-haired and vivacious”.
However, Lianhe Wanbao reported that she is in her 40s, and had been divorced from her husband, a Mr Yong, since 10 years ago. According to the tabloid, she also has two children, and apparently has the nickname “pretty woman”.
The evening daily also reported that in her previous position at the Japanese company, the woman entertained clients and accompanied them on golf and overseas trips.
Ng has known the woman in question for more than three years, and is believed to have been close to her since the start of 2009, ST said. CPIB’s investigations were said to be around two IT-related procurement contracts, valued at approximately $350,000, that Ng signed, and which underwent the regular process of awarding tenders.
The broadsheet also reported that the Japanese company the woman worked for was subcontracted by the two firms which were awarded the tenders.
In the meantime, Lim and Ng are said to be seeking legal assistance, and another six senior Singapore Civil Defence Force officers, together with employees from the IT sector are assisting with the CPIB investigation, reported the paper
The Chinese evening newspaper, Lianhe Wanbao, went ahead with a report on the corruption investigations into the activities of two top public service officers — Singapore Civil Defence Force chief Peter Lim Sin Pang and Central Narcotics Bureau chief Ng Boon Gay — without a government confirmation. It named names and gave details, like the involvement of a woman in the scandal, knowing fully well that there was a chance — a very small chance, maybe — that it could get some important details wrong.
When the government statement came — on the same day but after the paper had published the report — the news had already caught fire with the on-line world hammering out posts and reports and raising pointed issues that ranged from transparency to arrogance.
The most damaging statement, unintended though it was, came from the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau. In response to media queries, it said that the narcotics man was arrested on Dec 19 and the civil defence boss on Jan 4, many days before the government put out its statement on Jan 24.
It was too long a lapse and was made worse by the rapid-fire news cycle punishing even those who take a couple of hours to come out with its side of the story.
Why this long delay?
In response to a query by The Straits Times, the government said the investigations are continuing and "it is only fair that we accord the officers assisting with investigations a fair hearing in accordance with the civil service disciplinary process and the law."
It is understandable that you want to give those involved, especially when the investigations are still on-going, a good shot at fair play. That occasion passed when the two were arrested. That was the moment when officialdom should have bitten the bullet and said: The tipping point has been reached. And we have to go public with the story.
But it remained silent until the unlikeliest of sources — the traditional media, fed by a regular diet of press releases and official speeches — put the story in the public domain.
The end result: A government caught with its back against the wall and in a reactive mode.
High pay and low corruption
When the Parliamentary debate on political salaries took place from Jan 16 to 18, the one critical point that never came up was that of a clean Cabinet and civil service. The silence on this issue was understandable because corruption in high places in government is extremely rare. But this new development, where two very senior public service officials were under investigation for "serious personal misconduct", could have been brought up and could have added a new dimension to the debate.
The salary-corruption link is important. High pay was one way to discourage officials from wanting to have their palms greased. Lee Kuan Yew highlighted
that point when he pushed vigorously for top salaries. No reasonable-minded Singaporean would have expected a corrupt-free public service, even with high pay; those who want to get round the laws will always find loopholes to exploit.
But you can make sure that corruption cases are as rare as possible. And that corrupt officials, once exposed, will face the full brunt of the law.
Even ministers have not been spared. Former National Development Minister Teh Cheang Wan, who was praised by Lee Kuan Yew a number of times, chose to end his life when he faced the heat of an unyielding group of anti-corruption officers way back in the 1980s.
Making the CPIB report directly to the PMO gives them the latitude and freedom to investigate even the high and mighty without too many encumbrances.
All these could have made the Parliamentary debate more meaningful and relevant. But an opportunity to explain the historical backdrop and context to Singapore's war on corruption was lost.
The ruling party kept silent; so did the Opposition. I am more inclined to sympathise with the members of the Opposition because there was no way for them to have information on the latest investigations.
Lessons not learnt
Since GE 2011, the government seems to be on its backfoot with communication blunders becoming a regular occurrence. From the Mas Selamat case (official statement was issued four hours after the terrorist escaped from the Internal Security Department's detention centre) to the wrong signatures on YOG appreciation certificates (Minister Vivian Balakrishnan said that it was an embarrassment but not a disaster) to the PAP's electoral defeat in Aljunied (Lee Kuan Yew warned residents that they will repent if Opposition won), it is clear that the government has yet to get a handle on how to communicate effectively in a new world.
That is really strange. This is not a stupid government, it has done a lot of good things for its people, it is respected overseas and its model of governance is highly sought after.
Yet, one of the basic attributes of a smart government -- squaring with its citizens and carrying them along -- seems to be missing.
P N Balji
[UPDATED 28 Jan, 9am, with reax from DPM Teo, PSC probe details]
No one is above the law.
PM Lee on CPIB probe: We’ll pursue and settle matter one way or another
By Jeanette Tan
That was the clear message that rang out from Davos, Switzerland, where Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is attending a meeting of the G20-countries.
Speaking to local media there, PM Lee said in no uncertain terms on Friday morning that his government will follow through on Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) investigations into the alleged misconduct by top public officials Peter Lim and Ng Boon Gay. Lim is ex-Singapore Civil Defence Force Commissioner while Ng used to lead the Central Narcotics Bureau.
“Whoever he is, whichever position he occupies, we will pursue the matter and settle it one way or another,” PM Lee was quoted as saying in The Straits Times.
“If he did wrong, he must be punished,” he continued. “If he did nothing wrong, he must be exonerated.”
It was the Singapore leader's first comments on the high-profile CPIB probe which has gripped the nation.
Separately, Deputy PM Teo Chee Hean also said he was "quite disappointed these two cases had arisen."
Speaking on the sidelines of a Chinese New Year event in Singapore late on Friday, DPM Teo was quoted in The Straits Times that "nevertheless, it does demonstrate the strength of our system, which is that any such allegations will be fully and thoroughly investigated."
It has since also emerged that the two former chiefs of the CPIB and CNB -- both high-flying public service officers and former government scholarship holders -- are also facing disciplinary action by the Public Service Commission (PSC), reported ST.
Earlier on Friday, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) also said there was “no delay” in releasing news of the CPIB probe to the public.
The MHA has been under scrutiny for why news of the probe was only made public after Chinese daily Lianhe Wanbao broke the story earlier this week on 24 Jan.
But in a statement issued Friday afternoon, the MHA said that it is “normal procedure” for people to be arrested if the CPIB suspected they had committed an offence. The arrested individual can also be released on bail, although he or she will be required to return for further investigation, it added.
“At that point in time (when Ng and Lim were arrested, released on bail and placed on leave), it was premature to make any announcement as CPIB investigations had just started and the outcome was not known,” the statement said. “Furthermore, a public announcement at that point could compromise CPIB investigations,” it added.
The MHA explained it was only on 20 January that the CPIB informed them that they had found sufficient basis for the ministry to consider civil service disciplinary action for misconduct.
They then relieved them of their duties and started disciplinary action five days later, appointing replacements Eric Yap and Ng Ser Song to Lim’s and Ng’s respective posts.
MHA said it had planned to make news of the probe public on 25 January, but ended up advancing its media release a day earlier after the Chinese daily broke the story on Tuesday.
“Due process has to be followed to facilitate investigations, to be fair to officers accused, and to avoid prejudicing any legal or disciplinary proceedings,” the MHA said.
Meanwhile, more information has emerged about the still-unidentified female IT executive who is believed to be involved with Ng and Lim.
The two top-ranking public officials currently being investigated by the CPIB are believed to have on separate occasions had sex with the 36-year-old woman, reported The Straits Times (ST). All three, the paper stated, are married, and Ng and Lim are believed to have both admitted during questioning to having improper relationships with a woman.
The broadsheet reported that the woman was a sales director at a Japanese multinational company that provides business-scale IT storage systems, but moved to an American software firm about six months ago. The woman’s friends and contacts also told the paper that she is “tall, slim, long-haired and vivacious”.
However, Lianhe Wanbao reported that she is in her 40s, and had been divorced from her husband, a Mr Yong, since 10 years ago. According to the tabloid, she also has two children, and apparently has the nickname “pretty woman”.
The evening daily also reported that in her previous position at the Japanese company, the woman entertained clients and accompanied them on golf and overseas trips.
Ng has known the woman in question for more than three years, and is believed to have been close to her since the start of 2009, ST said. CPIB’s investigations were said to be around two IT-related procurement contracts, valued at approximately $350,000, that Ng signed, and which underwent the regular process of awarding tenders.
The broadsheet also reported that the Japanese company the woman worked for was subcontracted by the two firms which were awarded the tenders.
In the meantime, Lim and Ng are said to be seeking legal assistance, and another six senior Singapore Civil Defence Force officers, together with employees from the IT sector are assisting with the CPIB investigation, reported the paper
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Social mobility - Singapore
Today online
Mobility in S'pore 'higher than previously thought'
by Neo Chai Chin 04:46 AM Jan 13, 2012
SINGAPORE - Having poor or less-educated fathers does not necessarily mean their sons will fare similarly, according to a study by a Ministry of Finance economist.
Using the income records of about 39,500 father-son pairs from the Department of Statistics, the study has found inter-generational mobility in incomes and educational attainment to be "moderate to high", and higher than levels in the United States.
The correlation between measures of fathers' incomes and those of their sons is 0.22 to 0.30, depending on whether annual or monthly incomes were used. The number typically varies between 0 and 1, with a higher value implying lower mobility.
A 1992 US study found a correlation score of 0.4 and concluded inter-generational mobility there to be "relatively low".
The Singapore study tried to measure the incomes of fathers and sons as close to the middle of the life cycle as possible: Cohorts of eldest sons born from 1969 to 1978 and their mean employment income in 2008, and their fathers' mean employment incomes between 1996 and 2000.
Daughters and younger sons were left out, in line with comparable studies to avoid gender or birth-order biases in child investments, and also because daughters' incomes may be complicated by events such as childbirth and marriage.
Despite recording relatively high levels of mobility, the study by Ministry of Finance economist Yip Chun Seng noted "some evidence, though not strong, of lower mobility among the poor".
The report found mobility levels here higher than that found in two previous studies here using smaller sample sizes. Titled Intergenerational Income Mobility In Singapore and available on the MOF's website, it cited increased educational opportunities in the 1960s to 1980s as a possible reason for the relative mobility. NEO CHAI CHIN
Time to rethink social compact: Economists
by Ng Jing Yng 07:06 AM Jan 17, 2012
SINGAPORE - The Government needs to rethink its social compact as the income gap widens and social mobility slows down, some prominent economists here have argued in a paper.
The Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) paper, Inequality and the Need for a New Social Compact, was written by six economists, including Mr Manu Bhaskaran, an adjunct senior research fellow at IPS, Mr Donald Low, a former senior civil servant at the Ministry of Finance, and Mr Yeoh Lam Keong, who was formerly a managing director and chief economist at the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation.
The paper, which was shared yesterday at IPS' annual Singapore Perspectives conference, noted that "the fruits of growth are distributed more unevenly than before".
The authors said that key policies - in the areas of social security, healthcare, housing, education and infrastructure - had been designed for a "youthful population and steady economic growth".
Against such a backdrop, emphasis was placed on several tenets, including individual responsibility, and public housing was seen as an instrument of redistribution - all of which had worked out well. "(But) this benign context is now changing profoundly," the authors said.
With a maturing economy, an ageing population and erratic economic growth, it has become more difficult for Singapore to achieve equitable growth, and gaps in accessing primary needs are emerging.
The current social compact would not be sufficient "in the face of the changes unleashed by globalisation, rapid technological change, and our own policies", said the study.
There is a need for a social compact that strikes a better balance between growth and equity and between individual responsibility and social insurance, which will also reflect changes in the domestic political landscape, said the authors.
Such a compact would "foster a more cohesive, less polarised society where citizens have an interest in pursuing the common good even if it means near-term sacrifices".
The previous economic crisis has resulted in the need for an "activist government" to correct market failures in key policies. This might mean questioning long-standing policy beliefs like whether stronger social safety nets would undermine competitiveness, and having a small government and low income taxes.
It would also require the Government to think creatively and pragmatically on its policy outcomes and processes. The authors recommended a national conversation between the Government and its citizens to decide how Singapore's social compact should evolve.
Pointing to the Scandinavian countries which have broader social programmes that have proven to be sustainable, the authors also noted that Singapore is in a much stronger economical position to invest in long-term measures to ensure more inclusive growth for Singaporeans
03 Mar 2011
The Straits Times (Singapore)
'Significant' degree of social mobility
Today's students continue to do better than their parents and there is data to back that up.
Half of today's Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) pupils from the bottom one-third of families by parents' education and the type of flat they live in, emerge among the top two-thirds of PSLE scorers.
So there is still "significant mobility working through the system", Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said yesterday, addressing MPs' concerns that social mobility has slowed.
But with each successive cohort, it will become more difficult for children from lower socio-economic backgrounds to make their way up the education ladder, he acknowledged. That was "precisely because we achieved a very high degree of mobility in the past".
Since the 1960s, Singapore has achieved "phenomenal mobility".
Pointing to his fellow members in the House, Mr Tharman said many of them were the children of parents who "started off with little". They had however done well through a meritocratic system and so have their children.
Citing census data, the minister said that in 1980, less than 10 per cent of young adults aged 25 to 39 had diplomas and university degrees.
By last year, that figure had shot up to 64 per cent – a "very significant shift", that came after the first wave of mobility in the 1960s and 1970s.
"We have to put much more effort into our mobility efforts as we go forward, to prevent a cycle of disadvantage for those from lower-income backgrounds," Mr Tharman said.
The Government will continue to invest heavily in education, especially at the early stages, to reduce the disadvantages faced by children from low-income backgrounds, he pledged.
Since 2006, spending on childcare and primary education has grown much faster than spending on secondary and tertiary education. Spending on childcare has gone up by 150 per cent per child while spending on primary school has increased by 60 per cent per pupil.
"The more we do early on to help children discover their strengths, the more likely they will be able to move up and do better than their parents," he said.
Unlike in many other countries, there are also no huge disparities in facilities and teaching standards between schools in poor and wealthy neighbourhoods.
Singapore's neighbourhood schools have "principals and teachers who are passionate about what they do, and try to make learning interesting for each student".
Mobility in S'pore 'higher than previously thought'
by Neo Chai Chin 04:46 AM Jan 13, 2012
SINGAPORE - Having poor or less-educated fathers does not necessarily mean their sons will fare similarly, according to a study by a Ministry of Finance economist.
Using the income records of about 39,500 father-son pairs from the Department of Statistics, the study has found inter-generational mobility in incomes and educational attainment to be "moderate to high", and higher than levels in the United States.
The correlation between measures of fathers' incomes and those of their sons is 0.22 to 0.30, depending on whether annual or monthly incomes were used. The number typically varies between 0 and 1, with a higher value implying lower mobility.
A 1992 US study found a correlation score of 0.4 and concluded inter-generational mobility there to be "relatively low".
The Singapore study tried to measure the incomes of fathers and sons as close to the middle of the life cycle as possible: Cohorts of eldest sons born from 1969 to 1978 and their mean employment income in 2008, and their fathers' mean employment incomes between 1996 and 2000.
Daughters and younger sons were left out, in line with comparable studies to avoid gender or birth-order biases in child investments, and also because daughters' incomes may be complicated by events such as childbirth and marriage.
Despite recording relatively high levels of mobility, the study by Ministry of Finance economist Yip Chun Seng noted "some evidence, though not strong, of lower mobility among the poor".
The report found mobility levels here higher than that found in two previous studies here using smaller sample sizes. Titled Intergenerational Income Mobility In Singapore and available on the MOF's website, it cited increased educational opportunities in the 1960s to 1980s as a possible reason for the relative mobility. NEO CHAI CHIN
Time to rethink social compact: Economists
by Ng Jing Yng 07:06 AM Jan 17, 2012
SINGAPORE - The Government needs to rethink its social compact as the income gap widens and social mobility slows down, some prominent economists here have argued in a paper.
The Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) paper, Inequality and the Need for a New Social Compact, was written by six economists, including Mr Manu Bhaskaran, an adjunct senior research fellow at IPS, Mr Donald Low, a former senior civil servant at the Ministry of Finance, and Mr Yeoh Lam Keong, who was formerly a managing director and chief economist at the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation.
The paper, which was shared yesterday at IPS' annual Singapore Perspectives conference, noted that "the fruits of growth are distributed more unevenly than before".
The authors said that key policies - in the areas of social security, healthcare, housing, education and infrastructure - had been designed for a "youthful population and steady economic growth".
Against such a backdrop, emphasis was placed on several tenets, including individual responsibility, and public housing was seen as an instrument of redistribution - all of which had worked out well. "(But) this benign context is now changing profoundly," the authors said.
With a maturing economy, an ageing population and erratic economic growth, it has become more difficult for Singapore to achieve equitable growth, and gaps in accessing primary needs are emerging.
The current social compact would not be sufficient "in the face of the changes unleashed by globalisation, rapid technological change, and our own policies", said the study.
There is a need for a social compact that strikes a better balance between growth and equity and between individual responsibility and social insurance, which will also reflect changes in the domestic political landscape, said the authors.
Such a compact would "foster a more cohesive, less polarised society where citizens have an interest in pursuing the common good even if it means near-term sacrifices".
The previous economic crisis has resulted in the need for an "activist government" to correct market failures in key policies. This might mean questioning long-standing policy beliefs like whether stronger social safety nets would undermine competitiveness, and having a small government and low income taxes.
It would also require the Government to think creatively and pragmatically on its policy outcomes and processes. The authors recommended a national conversation between the Government and its citizens to decide how Singapore's social compact should evolve.
Pointing to the Scandinavian countries which have broader social programmes that have proven to be sustainable, the authors also noted that Singapore is in a much stronger economical position to invest in long-term measures to ensure more inclusive growth for Singaporeans
03 Mar 2011
The Straits Times (Singapore)
'Significant' degree of social mobility
Today's students continue to do better than their parents and there is data to back that up.
Half of today's Primary School Leaving Examination (PSLE) pupils from the bottom one-third of families by parents' education and the type of flat they live in, emerge among the top two-thirds of PSLE scorers.
So there is still "significant mobility working through the system", Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said yesterday, addressing MPs' concerns that social mobility has slowed.
But with each successive cohort, it will become more difficult for children from lower socio-economic backgrounds to make their way up the education ladder, he acknowledged. That was "precisely because we achieved a very high degree of mobility in the past".
Since the 1960s, Singapore has achieved "phenomenal mobility".
Pointing to his fellow members in the House, Mr Tharman said many of them were the children of parents who "started off with little". They had however done well through a meritocratic system and so have their children.
Citing census data, the minister said that in 1980, less than 10 per cent of young adults aged 25 to 39 had diplomas and university degrees.
By last year, that figure had shot up to 64 per cent – a "very significant shift", that came after the first wave of mobility in the 1960s and 1970s.
"We have to put much more effort into our mobility efforts as we go forward, to prevent a cycle of disadvantage for those from lower-income backgrounds," Mr Tharman said.
The Government will continue to invest heavily in education, especially at the early stages, to reduce the disadvantages faced by children from low-income backgrounds, he pledged.
Since 2006, spending on childcare and primary education has grown much faster than spending on secondary and tertiary education. Spending on childcare has gone up by 150 per cent per child while spending on primary school has increased by 60 per cent per pupil.
"The more we do early on to help children discover their strengths, the more likely they will be able to move up and do better than their parents," he said.
Unlike in many other countries, there are also no huge disparities in facilities and teaching standards between schools in poor and wealthy neighbourhoods.
Singapore's neighbourhood schools have "principals and teachers who are passionate about what they do, and try to make learning interesting for each student".
Monday, January 16, 2012
India and China to begin border talks
BBC 16 Jan 2011
India and China have begun a fresh round of talks aimed at resolving a long-running dispute over their Himalayan border.
A number of areas along the border between the two countries are in dispute and the nations fought a brief war in 1962.
Numerous rounds of border talks have been held to try to resolve the issues.
China protested when Indian PM Manmohan Singh visited Arunachal Pradesh during his 2009 election campaign.
Last November China's ambassador to India became involved in a heated exchange over a map that showed parts of India within China's border.
State Councillor Dai Bing-guo, who is leading the Chinese delegation at the two-day talks, said the two countries must put aside their differences and seize "a golden period to grow China-India relations".
"There does not exist such a thing as China's attempt to attack India or suppress India's development," he wrote in an article which appeared in The Hindu newspaper.
"The world has enough space for China and India to achieve common development, as there are so many areas for us to work together," he wrote.
The Indian delegation at the talks is being led by the National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon.
India's external affairs ministry said in a statement that the two sides will also hold talks on a "a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest".
Both sides have previously claimed the other is occupying parts of its land.
While India has accused China of occupying territory in Kashmir, Beijing has laid claim to territory in the north-east Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.
India and China, the new Great GameBy Andrew North
BBC South Asia correspondentBBC - 13 Dec 2011
"Beware India!" shouts the headline in one Indian paper.
"China to open first military base in Indian Ocean."
Nothing to worry about, says the defence ministry in Beijing. The base - in the Seychelles - is just for supplying passing Chinese navy ships.
But seen from Delhi, it is another move in what a former Indian defence minister has called China's policy of "strategic encirclement".
Even as Indian diplomats insist they want "cordial ties", tensions are rising everywhere between the two giant Asian neighbours, in what looks increasingly like a new "great game" - with the US and other powers upping their stakes.
Willliam Burns, America's number two diplomat, is in Delhi this week to try to rekindle relations after a period of stagnation, and a stalled deal on nuclear co-operation.
Next week, Washington hosts diplomats from India and Japan for a first ever "trilateral dialogue" of the "three leading Pacific democracies".
An increasingly assertive China is clearly their main focus.
The Great Game was a term coined for the shadowy battle for influence and control in central Asia between Russia and the British empire.
Yet even as the latest round plays out in Afghanistan, this new and less-noticed Asian great game could be of far greater global importance - and pose more dangers.
'Perception deficit'
It is already provoking regular media hostilities, the Chinese papers lashing out at India as "jealous" of China's success, after the former Indian defence minister's broadside.
While playing down the chances of real conflict, a senior Indian diplomat admits: "There is a trust and a perception deficit" between the two.
Nearly 50 years after they fought a brief border war, Delhi and Beijing still cannot agree on much of their nearly 4,000km (2,500 miles) of frontier, with an arms race happening on both sides.
A regular border meeting was recently cancelled because of disagreements over another frequent irritant in the relationship - the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who lives under Indian protection.
This is bound to be an "adversarial" relationship, says Shyam Saran, India's foreign secretary until last year.
But what he calls China's "hierarchical' outlook" makes it more difficult.
"It wants to be on top, maybe not to dominate territory, but to have veto power over any of its neighbours' policies it doesn't like."
'Cheque-book diplomacy'
Just like the original great game, this is a battle on many fronts, being fought with aid, investment, politics and culture - from Pakistan (a long-time Chinese ally) to Nepal, and across South East Asia.
But paradoxically, part of the reason for relations "getting more complicated" is "because they are getting closer", says Jonathan Holslag, a China expert at the Brussels Institute of Contemporary Studies.
Trade between India and China is expanding, but it is imbalanced in China's favour.
And with its greater economic weight, it is going "all out in its cheque-book diplomacy", says Mr Holslag, with India struggling to compete.
But while it could not stop the Seychelles hosting China's new base, India drew the line earlier this year when Nepal - landlocked between the two giants - contemplated accepting $3bn (£2bn) worth of Chinese investment.
But China already has firm foundations there, recently upgrading the Friendship Highway across the Himalayas between Kathmandu and Lhasa in Tibet.
Work is now under way on a railway link, with nothing comparable from the Indian side.
“
The US still appears unable to decide whether to treat India as a partner… as far as technology matters are concerned.”
Senior Indian diplomat
China is years ahead of India in building up transport links along their disputed frontier, giving it a head start in moving troops if there is another war.
US factor
Yet from Beijing's point of view, India is helping in what it perceives as an emerging US policy of containment.
Next week's meeting will only heighten these suspicions, coming soon after US President Barack Obama's announced plans to send US marines to Australia's northern coast - facing China.
Beijing chafes at Indian oil companies encroaching on what it regards as its backyard in the South China sea.
Indian officials though play down an incident in the summer when a Chinese ship is reported to have warned an Indian ship to leave the area.
There is no question of India being used as "a cat's paw" by the US, according to the senior Indian diplomat.
And despite better ties, India remains cautious about how close it gets to Washington, says Mr Saran, because of a perception that it is still not willing to share enough.
"The US still appears unable to decide whether to treat India as a partner… as far as technology matters are concerned," he says.
Watering down nationalism
That both India and China are now nuclear-armed helps concentrate minds against war.
Along their border, the most likely flashpoint, things have been quiet for more than 30 years - despite or perhaps because of the military build-up
"Not a bullet has been fired, not a soldier lost," says Indian foreign ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash.
Yet some see dangers in the continuing war of words in the Indian and Chinese media.
Jonathan Holslag says that although it is only "25% real, it plays up nationalist sentiment and reduces the scope for making compromises".
If economic growth slows much more in either India or China - and there are already signs - that could spell trouble, encouraging nationalism that could turn "nasty".
India and China have begun a fresh round of talks aimed at resolving a long-running dispute over their Himalayan border.
A number of areas along the border between the two countries are in dispute and the nations fought a brief war in 1962.
Numerous rounds of border talks have been held to try to resolve the issues.
China protested when Indian PM Manmohan Singh visited Arunachal Pradesh during his 2009 election campaign.
Last November China's ambassador to India became involved in a heated exchange over a map that showed parts of India within China's border.
State Councillor Dai Bing-guo, who is leading the Chinese delegation at the two-day talks, said the two countries must put aside their differences and seize "a golden period to grow China-India relations".
"There does not exist such a thing as China's attempt to attack India or suppress India's development," he wrote in an article which appeared in The Hindu newspaper.
"The world has enough space for China and India to achieve common development, as there are so many areas for us to work together," he wrote.
The Indian delegation at the talks is being led by the National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon.
India's external affairs ministry said in a statement that the two sides will also hold talks on a "a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest".
Both sides have previously claimed the other is occupying parts of its land.
While India has accused China of occupying territory in Kashmir, Beijing has laid claim to territory in the north-east Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh.
India and China, the new Great GameBy Andrew North
BBC South Asia correspondentBBC - 13 Dec 2011
"Beware India!" shouts the headline in one Indian paper.
"China to open first military base in Indian Ocean."
Nothing to worry about, says the defence ministry in Beijing. The base - in the Seychelles - is just for supplying passing Chinese navy ships.
But seen from Delhi, it is another move in what a former Indian defence minister has called China's policy of "strategic encirclement".
Even as Indian diplomats insist they want "cordial ties", tensions are rising everywhere between the two giant Asian neighbours, in what looks increasingly like a new "great game" - with the US and other powers upping their stakes.
Willliam Burns, America's number two diplomat, is in Delhi this week to try to rekindle relations after a period of stagnation, and a stalled deal on nuclear co-operation.
Next week, Washington hosts diplomats from India and Japan for a first ever "trilateral dialogue" of the "three leading Pacific democracies".
An increasingly assertive China is clearly their main focus.
The Great Game was a term coined for the shadowy battle for influence and control in central Asia between Russia and the British empire.
Yet even as the latest round plays out in Afghanistan, this new and less-noticed Asian great game could be of far greater global importance - and pose more dangers.
'Perception deficit'
It is already provoking regular media hostilities, the Chinese papers lashing out at India as "jealous" of China's success, after the former Indian defence minister's broadside.
While playing down the chances of real conflict, a senior Indian diplomat admits: "There is a trust and a perception deficit" between the two.
Nearly 50 years after they fought a brief border war, Delhi and Beijing still cannot agree on much of their nearly 4,000km (2,500 miles) of frontier, with an arms race happening on both sides.
A regular border meeting was recently cancelled because of disagreements over another frequent irritant in the relationship - the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who lives under Indian protection.
This is bound to be an "adversarial" relationship, says Shyam Saran, India's foreign secretary until last year.
But what he calls China's "hierarchical' outlook" makes it more difficult.
"It wants to be on top, maybe not to dominate territory, but to have veto power over any of its neighbours' policies it doesn't like."
'Cheque-book diplomacy'
Just like the original great game, this is a battle on many fronts, being fought with aid, investment, politics and culture - from Pakistan (a long-time Chinese ally) to Nepal, and across South East Asia.
But paradoxically, part of the reason for relations "getting more complicated" is "because they are getting closer", says Jonathan Holslag, a China expert at the Brussels Institute of Contemporary Studies.
Trade between India and China is expanding, but it is imbalanced in China's favour.
And with its greater economic weight, it is going "all out in its cheque-book diplomacy", says Mr Holslag, with India struggling to compete.
But while it could not stop the Seychelles hosting China's new base, India drew the line earlier this year when Nepal - landlocked between the two giants - contemplated accepting $3bn (£2bn) worth of Chinese investment.
But China already has firm foundations there, recently upgrading the Friendship Highway across the Himalayas between Kathmandu and Lhasa in Tibet.
Work is now under way on a railway link, with nothing comparable from the Indian side.
“
The US still appears unable to decide whether to treat India as a partner… as far as technology matters are concerned.”
Senior Indian diplomat
China is years ahead of India in building up transport links along their disputed frontier, giving it a head start in moving troops if there is another war.
US factor
Yet from Beijing's point of view, India is helping in what it perceives as an emerging US policy of containment.
Next week's meeting will only heighten these suspicions, coming soon after US President Barack Obama's announced plans to send US marines to Australia's northern coast - facing China.
Beijing chafes at Indian oil companies encroaching on what it regards as its backyard in the South China sea.
Indian officials though play down an incident in the summer when a Chinese ship is reported to have warned an Indian ship to leave the area.
There is no question of India being used as "a cat's paw" by the US, according to the senior Indian diplomat.
And despite better ties, India remains cautious about how close it gets to Washington, says Mr Saran, because of a perception that it is still not willing to share enough.
"The US still appears unable to decide whether to treat India as a partner… as far as technology matters are concerned," he says.
Watering down nationalism
That both India and China are now nuclear-armed helps concentrate minds against war.
Along their border, the most likely flashpoint, things have been quiet for more than 30 years - despite or perhaps because of the military build-up
"Not a bullet has been fired, not a soldier lost," says Indian foreign ministry spokesman Vishnu Prakash.
Yet some see dangers in the continuing war of words in the Indian and Chinese media.
Jonathan Holslag says that although it is only "25% real, it plays up nationalist sentiment and reduces the scope for making compromises".
If economic growth slows much more in either India or China - and there are already signs - that could spell trouble, encouraging nationalism that could turn "nasty".
Mail Online
Brazil overtakes UK as sixth biggest economy as Britain falls behind a South American nation for the first time
Figures show a dramatic illustration of changing global fortunes
China, Japan, Germany, France and the U.S. occupy the top five places
Brazil fast-becoming one of the powerhouses of the global economy
By Nick Fagge
Last updated at 1:01 AM on 26th December 2011
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2078596/Brazil-overtakes-UK-sixth-biggest-economy-Britain-falls-South-American-nation-time.html#ixzz1jfsO66Mz
Britain has been deposed by Brazil as the sixth largest economy in the world, latest figures show.
In a dramatic illustration of changing global economic fortunes, the UK has fallen behind a South American nation for the first time.
The figures, from the Centre for Economic and Business Research’s annual world economic league table, show Britain is now the seventh richest country in the world.
The U.S., China, Japan, Germany and France occupy the top five places.
More often associated with football and dirt-poor shanty towns known as favelas, Brazil is fast becoming one of the powerhouses of the global economy.
The largest country in Latin America, its economy has surged because of vast reserves of natural resources and a rapidly growing, and cash-rich, middle class.
At the same time the UK languishes in the grip of a national debt crisis and lack of bank credit. Britons continue to be better off and enjoy a far higher standard of living than the vast majority of people in Brazil but the latter’s 203million population provides huge economic clout.
‘The punching power of Brazil as a whole has overtaken Britain because of the huge economic potential of people who live there,’ Peter Slowe, a former government economic policy advisor, told the Daily Mail.
‘Brazil has a variety of natural resources to rely on including gold and silver as well as oil off-shore and minerals in the Amazon.
‘By contrast the UK economy is affected by the problems of the eurozone.’
Brazil’s stable political situation also attracts investors.
Its hard-won democracy also provides foreign investors with the peace of mind that the status quo is unlikely to be overturned by a popular revolution. Brazil floundered under a number of military dictatorships throughout the 20th century until civilian control was established in 1985.
The rapid economic development in the huge South American state is likely to come at the expense of the Amazon – and its indigenous people, animals and extraordinary forests.
Dr Slowe said: ‘Brazil, unlike China, is a democracy which is much more attractive to investors.
‘This means the country is unlikely to undergo prolonged civil unrest which is likely to occur at some time in China.
‘The country has huge potential but the vast majority of their resources are in Amazon basin.
‘And the cost of exploiting this mineral wealth is the loss of the habitat and the traditions of indigenous tribes who have lived the same way since the Stone Age.’
The relegation to sixth spot is the latest blow to the British economy.
In the middle of a prolonged economic downturn and dragged into the euro crisis because of its trade relations with the Continent, the UK has also been involved in an unseemly spat with France.
London has come under sustained attack from French ministers over which country has the best economic prospects.
Although the latest figures from the CEBR would suggest the French are ahead, they also predict that Britain will leapfrog France by 2020. The CEBR says that by then the UK economy will be the eighth largest in the world, one ahead of France and two behind Brazil.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2078596/Brazil-overtakes-UK-sixth-biggest-economy-Britain-falls-South-American-nation-time.html#ixzz1jfskGrtH
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2078596/Brazil-overtakes-UK-sixth-biggest-economy-Britain-falls-South-American-nation-time.html#ixzz1jfsTkI23
Figures show a dramatic illustration of changing global fortunes
China, Japan, Germany, France and the U.S. occupy the top five places
Brazil fast-becoming one of the powerhouses of the global economy
By Nick Fagge
Last updated at 1:01 AM on 26th December 2011
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2078596/Brazil-overtakes-UK-sixth-biggest-economy-Britain-falls-South-American-nation-time.html#ixzz1jfsO66Mz
Britain has been deposed by Brazil as the sixth largest economy in the world, latest figures show.
In a dramatic illustration of changing global economic fortunes, the UK has fallen behind a South American nation for the first time.
The figures, from the Centre for Economic and Business Research’s annual world economic league table, show Britain is now the seventh richest country in the world.
The U.S., China, Japan, Germany and France occupy the top five places.
More often associated with football and dirt-poor shanty towns known as favelas, Brazil is fast becoming one of the powerhouses of the global economy.
The largest country in Latin America, its economy has surged because of vast reserves of natural resources and a rapidly growing, and cash-rich, middle class.
At the same time the UK languishes in the grip of a national debt crisis and lack of bank credit. Britons continue to be better off and enjoy a far higher standard of living than the vast majority of people in Brazil but the latter’s 203million population provides huge economic clout.
‘The punching power of Brazil as a whole has overtaken Britain because of the huge economic potential of people who live there,’ Peter Slowe, a former government economic policy advisor, told the Daily Mail.
‘Brazil has a variety of natural resources to rely on including gold and silver as well as oil off-shore and minerals in the Amazon.
‘By contrast the UK economy is affected by the problems of the eurozone.’
Brazil’s stable political situation also attracts investors.
Its hard-won democracy also provides foreign investors with the peace of mind that the status quo is unlikely to be overturned by a popular revolution. Brazil floundered under a number of military dictatorships throughout the 20th century until civilian control was established in 1985.
The rapid economic development in the huge South American state is likely to come at the expense of the Amazon – and its indigenous people, animals and extraordinary forests.
Dr Slowe said: ‘Brazil, unlike China, is a democracy which is much more attractive to investors.
‘This means the country is unlikely to undergo prolonged civil unrest which is likely to occur at some time in China.
‘The country has huge potential but the vast majority of their resources are in Amazon basin.
‘And the cost of exploiting this mineral wealth is the loss of the habitat and the traditions of indigenous tribes who have lived the same way since the Stone Age.’
The relegation to sixth spot is the latest blow to the British economy.
In the middle of a prolonged economic downturn and dragged into the euro crisis because of its trade relations with the Continent, the UK has also been involved in an unseemly spat with France.
London has come under sustained attack from French ministers over which country has the best economic prospects.
Although the latest figures from the CEBR would suggest the French are ahead, they also predict that Britain will leapfrog France by 2020. The CEBR says that by then the UK economy will be the eighth largest in the world, one ahead of France and two behind Brazil.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2078596/Brazil-overtakes-UK-sixth-biggest-economy-Britain-falls-South-American-nation-time.html#ixzz1jfskGrtH
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2078596/Brazil-overtakes-UK-sixth-biggest-economy-Britain-falls-South-American-nation-time.html#ixzz1jfsTkI23
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