The Challenge Ahead

Israel’s had a high birth rate for many years … so as an overall, the relative percentage of the elderly (65+) is low. But this is changing, and rapidly.

The ratio of elderly to working-age adults has been pretty stable for the last twenty years (about 160 to 1000), according to JDC’s macroeconomic research institute, the Taub Center. But in the next twenty years, the ratio is going to increase by forty percent (!), reaching 230 elderly for every 1000 working-age citizens.

What does this mean? A massive strain on funding elderly-care, increasing poverty, a need for elderly-employment, and more.

And we need to start thinking about this now.