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Nutrition, Health And Old Age: The Case Of Urban South African Elderly, Karen E. Charlton

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

The southern African region (Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Mozambique and Zimbabwe) has the continent's highest percentage of older inhabitants; 6.2% of the population in 1997 was estimated to be 60 years or older. Within southern Africa, South Africa has the highest proportion of older population. The 1996 census data estimate that 2.8 million South Africans are aged 60 years and older, which constitutes 7% of the total population. This percentage is projected to increase to almost 11% of the population over the next 20 years. (Mostert W, Hofmeyr B, Oosthuizen K Demographic projections for South Africa. Pretoria: Human …