Cairo – On the occasion of the International Day of Older Persons, which the world celebrates annually on October 1, the Egyptian Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) revealed the number of people over 60 in the country has reached around 6.9 million, 6.6% of the total population.
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting on December 14, 1990, established a date to celebrate the elderly, highlight these people’s significant contributions to society’s global development, and identify the most critical issues related to their needs. This year, the day’s motto is “The resilience of older people in a changing world.”
According to UN statistics, the number of people over 60 worldwide is expected to double in the next three decades, surpassing the 1.5 billion mark by 2050, 80% of whom will live in low and middle-income countries.
CAPMAS stated the average life expectancy in Egypt in 2022 is 69.7 years for men and 74.1 for women. The number of elderly males amounts to 3.7 million people, or 6.9% of the total male population, while the number of elderly females reached 3.2 million, or 6.4% of the entire female population.
Statistics estimated the number of economically active elderly in the country sits at 1.1 million, representing 16.6% of the total elderly. The illiteracy rate in this age group reached 54.9% in 2021, while the percentage of people with a college education or higher was 10.4% of the elderly in 2021. The Ministry of Social Solidarity provides a pension for families headed by the elderly, which in the country totals 6,472 families.
The report revealed the number of institutions for people aged 60 and over was 167 across Egypt last year, with the number of beneficiaries served by these institutions reaching a total of 2,812. The number of clubs for the elderly totaled 172, and the number of beneficiaries was 26,075.
Translated by Georgette Merkhan & Elúsio Brasileiro
