Report Shows Increase In Elderly Population In São Paulo

The proportion of elderly people (group aged 60 or over) compared to the total population contingent increased from 4.4% in 1950 to 16.2% in 2022. According to data from July 2022 of the study Demographic aging advances in São Paulo , carried out by Fundação Seade (State Data Analysis System), a body of the Government of the State of São Paulo, this percentage is equivalent to 7.31 million people from São Paulo.

The demographic aging index reached 86.7%, that is, there are almost 87 elderly people for every 100 children or young people (from 0 to 14 years old) in the State of São Paulo. In 1950, the rate was 11.3%. In the year 2000, it was 34.1%. However, in the last 22 years, the index has grown due to the drop in fertility and the increase in life expectancy of the population. The projection for 2026 is for equivalence in the number of elderly people and children or young people.

The mesoregions – subdivisions of states with municipalities in the same geographical area and socioeconomic similarity – of São José do Rio Preto and Araçatuba were the ones that showed the greatest demographic aging, with rates above 120%. On the other hand, almost the entire Itapetininga mesoregion, in the southwest of the state, had an index of up to 79.9%. The study shows that 60% of cities with less than 10,000 inhabitants had a greater presence of elderly people than young people.

The gender composition of the elderly population highlights the higher number of women than men, a proportion that gradually increases with advancing age. Between 60 and 64 years old, for example, 54.3% are women. From the age of 80, this rate rises to 63.3%.