Japan passes Italy as most elderly nation
Ap, Tokyo
Japan said Friday it had surpassed Italy as the world's most elderly nation, fuelling concerns over the effects of a rapidly aging population on the world's second-largest economy.People aged 65 or older accounted for 21 percent of Japan's population in 2005, the Ministry of International Affairs and Communication said in a preliminary report. Italy's national statistics office reported that 19.5 percent of Italians were 65 or older last year. The ratio of people under 15 also hit the world's lowest level at 13.6 percent, dipping below Bulgaria's 13.8 percent, according to Japan's report, based on a nationwide census taken last year.
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