ACCORDING TO the Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions 1999, the fastest-growing segment of the population is the age group 65 and over.
The annual survey, conducted jointly by the Planning Institute of Jamaica and the Statistical Institute of Jamaica, state that the potential of rapid growth for the age group is high, "when consideration is given to the impact of the falling mortality rate and increases in life expectancy on the large cohorts born after 1944."
"The proportion of the population 65 years and older has increased steadily to 8.6 per cent in 1999, from 5.4 per cent in 1970, reflecting an average annual growth rate of 1.6 per cent," the survey added.
Data from the 1999 survey reinforced the general shifts observed over the last three decades in the structure of the population.
The child population -- age 0-14 years -- was estimated at 33.5 per cent of the total population. This indicated a downward trend from a high of 44.8 per cent in 1975. The working-age population, 15-64 years, was estimated at 57.8 per cent. This age group has increased from 49.8 per cent in 1970 and is expected to continue increasing beyond 2000.
Rural areas recorded the highest proportion of children (36.4 per cent), as well as persons aged 65 and over (9.6 per cent), while the working-age population was highest in the Kingston Metropolitan Area.
