Days Until International Day of Older Persons

About International Day of Older Persons

Following the UN's 1982 adoption of the Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing, the General Assembly designated October 1 in 1990 of the Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing, addressing the needs and contributions of older people worldwide.

The observance is used to highlight issues including elder abuse, access to healthcare, and older people's continued social and economic contributions, particularly as the global population's median age continues to rise.

The UN projects the number of people aged 65 and over will roughly double in the coming decades, a demographic shift frequently cited in the day's advocacy materials.

The UN's own population projections suggest the number of people aged 80 and over will grow especially quickly in the coming decades, a subset of the aging trend the observance increasingly highlights.