Living Arrangements of the Elderly in South Africa

Amadou Noumbissi, University of Pennsylvania
Chuks Mbamaonyeukwu, University of Pennsylvania

Due to the current levels of fertility and mortality, the population of Africa is the youngest in the World. About 5 percent of African population is aged 60 or more and the median age was estimated at 18.4 years in Africa and 37.7 in Europe where the aging population is most advanced. However, Africa has the higher elderly population growth rate. The increase in the number of the elderly in Africa coupled with the devastating effects of HIV/AIDS is affecting the well-being of the elderly in Africa. The deficiencies or absence of social security coverage in many developing countries and the weakening of the traditional role of the family due to modernization, have deleterious consequences for the welfare of the aged. The elderly, especially among women, is forced either to live alone or become caretakers of young children whose parents have died. Using South Africa census micro-data, this paper focuses on the residential patterns and the living arrangements of the elderly taking in account the gender, racial and regional differences. South Africa has the highest prevalence of the HIV virus in the world and is likely to experience shifting population dynamics. An examination of the household structure and living arrangements of the aged will contribute to our knowledge about the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of this deadly epidemic.