MUCH of the developed world is ageing. With increasing life expectations and decreasing birth rates, countries like Japan, Germany, Australia and Singapore, are experiencing a shift in population distribution in which the proportion of citizens who are no longer actively pursuing a career is large and increasing.
Economically, it infers that a smaller economically active portion of the population will now have to support an increasing number of senior citizens who have retired. This has placed an enormous strain on the social support services of the country, particularly on healthcare.