The New Asian Active Ageing Index for ASEAN+3: A Comparative Analysis with EU Member States

Abstract

The high speed of population ageing in ASEAN countries and in China, Japan and Korea necessitate a high-quality, comparative evidence base for policy learning. The new Asian Active Ageing Index (AAI) proposed in this paper quantifies the extent to which older people make contributions to their families and societies. The Asian AAI was calibrated to cultural norms in Asia by revisiting the choice of indicators. We also revised the aggregation methods previously used in the AAI for European Union member states. Amongst ASEAN member countries, Thailand does better than Indonesia and they both fare better than many European countries. Japan is among the top performing countries alongside Scandinavian countries. In the two ASEAN countries, Thailand and Indonesia, older persons are physically and mentally capable while their pension incomes are low, which explains the level of informal support they offer and their high employment rates, respectively. Future active ageing strategies need to prioritize active ageing among older women, particularly those who live alone.