Vaupel et al (jwv@demogr.mpg.de as reported in Science 8 May 98 280:855)
have reviewed survival data for old people in various countries.
They note increasing longevity. Here is tabular data for people 60 and
older and the prediction for a future year.
I rearranged their table by adding a % change column and sorting
in that order.
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1997 2025 % change % pop. in 2025
Sweden 2 mil 2.7 mil 35 29
Italy 13 18 38 33
Japan 27 40 48 33
Germany 18 28 56 32
US 44 83 89 25
China 118 290 146 20
India 64 165 158 12
Mexico 6.5 18 177 13
World 530 1200 126 15
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It seems that the US is situated between the developing countries
of China, India and Mexico on the one hand, and the advanced countries
with higher standards of living; Sweden, Italy, Japan, Germany on the
other. Any ideas on causality?