THE 2025 United Nations International Day of Older Persons, observed under the theme “Older Persons Driving Local and Global Action: Our Aspirations, Our Well-Being and Our Rights”, highlights the transformative role older persons play in building resilient and equitable societies. Far from being passive beneficiaries, older persons are drivers of progress, contributing their knowledge and experience in areas such as health equity, financial well-being, community resilience, and human rights advocacy.

The number of people aged 60 years or over has more than doubled, from around 541 million in 1995 to 1.2 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach 2.1 billion by 2050. Global life expectancy has reached 73.5 years in 2025. The number of persons aged 80 years or over is growing even faster and is projected to surpass the number of infants by the mid-2030s and reach 265 mil­lion, according to the United Nations’ press releases.

In Myanmar, to ensure income security for the elder­ly, a social pension support programme was introduced starting in the 2014-2015 fi­nancial year for those aged 100 and above. Beginning in the 2017-2018 financial year, the programme was extended to those aged 90 and above, and in the 2018-2019 financial year, it was further expanded to cover those aged 85 and above. According to the 2019 Population and Housing Cen­sus of Myanmar, there were 5.2 million people aged 60 and above. Based on the projected population estimates of the Department of Population for 2024, the number of elderly persons has increased to over 6.5 million, and the life expectancy is 66.9 years.

Since 2017, the Myanmar National Committee on Ageing has been implementing programmes to safeguard the rights of the elderly and to ensure their collective care and support. To pro­vide income security for the elderly, a nationwide social pension programme was introduced in 2017. Under this programme, in the 2024-2025 financial year, a total of 110,796 elderly persons aged 85 and above were provided social pension benefits.

As the new generation of youth who will shoulder the future responsibilities of the nation, they are urged to recognize the rights of the elderly, treat them with respect, and provide collective care and support. It is necessary for all relevant departments and vol­unteer organizations to continue working together to ensure that all elderly persons are fully protected and cared for in accordance with the law.