Population aging will occur more rapidly in Asia than in any other region over
the next few decades. As a consequence, while Asia, the world's largest
continent, accounted for 28 percent of the world's population aged 60 and
older in 1985, that percentage will more than double to 58 percent in 2050
(United Nations 2001). Thus, in terms of numbers of people, the global
challenges facing social security systems are largely Asian.