Note to readers
Population aging continues
Increasing life expectancy
Diversity of senior women
Many senior women live in a family context
Many senior immigrant women live with relatives
Extent of social network decreases with age for senior women
Nearly one senior woman in three had done volunteer work
The proportion of senior women holding a paid job doubled in the past decade
Increased average income and more diverse income sources
Government transfers have declined
Low income for senior women continues to decline
The majority of senior women describe their health in positive terms
Chronic health conditions
High blood pressure is senior women's most common chronic health condition
Tobacco use and diet differed
Senior women are more likely to be physically inactive than their male counterparts
Pain and injuries more common for women
More senior women than men receive informal assistance with everyday activities because of chronic health condition
Living in collective households or institutions
Senior women l
Introduction
Living longer
Heart disease and cancer cause most deaths for senior women
Canada, like many industrialized countries, has an aging population. The continued growth in the number of women and men aged 65 years and over, with women representing the majority of older people, will have implications for many areas such as health services, caregiving, housing and pensions. This chapter provides an overview of senior women in the population, analysed in a historical context where appropriate. It examines their socio-demographic characteristics, including life expectancy, diversity, family and living arrangements, health and well-being, labour force participation and income.
Population aging continues
Canada had 4.8 million people aged 65 years and over on July 1, 2010 (Table 1). Of this senior population, 2.7 million, or 56%, were women, accounting for 16% of the total female population. According to the medium-growth scenario of the most recent population projections,1 population aging in Canada is expected to accelerate from 2011 to 2031.2During this time, the large cohort of baby boomers born between 1946 and 1965, and aged 45 to 64 years in 2010, will reach their senior years. By 2031, projections show 9.6 million people would be aged 65 years and over, of whom 5.1 million would be women (53% of seniors and 24% of the total female population).3 Population aging would continue in the years following 2031, but at a slower pace. By 2061, the last year of the projection period, there could be 13.4 million seniors in Canada, including 7.1 million women, comprising 53% of the senior population and about 27% of the overall female population.
In addition to the aging of the baby boom generation, population aging in Canada is largely the result of two other factors: a low fertility rate and higher life expectancy. First, the total fertility rate has been in the range of 1.5 to 1.7 children per woman, on average, over the last 30 years — below the replacement level of 2.1. Second, Canadians' life expectancy has increased substantially during the past century. Consequently, more people are reaching age 65 and surviving longer into their senior years.
Table 1 Population aged 65 years and over by sex, Canada, 1921 to 2061
As of July 1, 2010, 1.3 million people were aged 80 and over, of whom 839,900, or 63%, were women. According to the most recent population projections, this age group would have 1.6 million women by 2031, and 2.9 million women by 2061. On July 1, 2010, Canada had about 6,500 centenarians — people aged 100 years and over — and about 5,200, or four-fifths, were women. Less than a decade earlier, in 2001, there were 3,400 centenarians: 2,900 were women, or 84% of this age group. The number of female centenarians could reach 14,000 by 2031 and 60,700 by 2061, still comprising close to four-fifths of the 17,600 and 78,300 centenarians in each respective year.
From July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010, population percentage growth of the baby boomers was high, but that of the oldest old was even higher (Chart 1). In fact, centenarians had the highest growth of all age groups during the 2009/2010 period, although the 9.0% growth of female centenarians was slower than that of male centenarians, at 13%. The percentage growth of people in their nineties was also high, again with slower growth for women than men.
Chart 1 Percentage growth, by age group and sex, Canada, July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010
Increasing life expectancy
The primary reason for the greater number of older women than older men is women's longer life expectancy. According to the age-specific mortality rates observed in 2007, a baby girl could expect to live 83.0 years; a baby boy, 78.5 years.4 Canadian women who were aged 65 in 2007 could expect to live another 21.3 years; men of that age, an additional 18.3 years (Table 2). Life expectancy has been steadily rising based on the data recorded since 1921. Even women who were aged 80 in 2007 could expect to live another 10.2 years; men of that age, another 8.5 years.
The gap, however, between women's and men's life expectancies has been narrowing since the late 1970s. This might explain the more rapid growth of men compared with women in the oldest age groups. If this trend continues in the coming decades, it may eventually produce a greater balance in the number of senior women and men. Women aged 65 years and over made up about 58% of the total senior population from about the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s; by the early 2030s, their share is projected to decrease to 53%. This trend has implications: for example, both spouses surviving longer may allow for mutual informal care and support.
Among countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), women's life expectancy, based on 2006-to-2007 data, was higher than Canada's in Japan (86 years), France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Australia (about 84 years).5 A life expectancy at birth at or about 83 years for women was reported in some other OECD countries: Finland, Sweden, Austria, Norway, Iceland, Germany and South Korea.
Table 2 Remaining life expectancy of women and men at age 65, Canada, 1921 to 2007
Despite the relatively high life expectancy of senior women overall in Canada, there is some variation. In the territories, which have a high Aboriginal population, life expectancy for women at age 65 is more than two years lower than in the country as a whole.6 A lower life expectancy and, to an even greater extent, higher fertility, contribute to a younger Aboriginal population compared with the general Canadian population. Consequently, the demographic situation of the Aboriginal population is unique in Canada. While 14% of the total female population in Canada was composed of senior women in 2006, this was the case for 5.1% of the female population with an Aboriginal identity. In contrast, the Aboriginal female population had a much higher share of girls aged 14 and under (28%) than did the overall female population (17%).
The proportion of women aged 65 years and over, relative to the total female population, will increase in the coming years, while that of girls aged 14 years and under will remain fairly stable (Chart 2). In fact, the share of women aged 65 and over (15.9%) is projected to surpass that of girls aged 14 and under (15.8%) for the first time in Canadian history as soon as 2011. The gap would continue to widen to about 12 percentage points in 2061, the end of the most recent projection period. At that point, senior women would make up 27% of the total female population; girls aged 14 and under, 15%.
Diversity of senior women7
The diverse nature of senior women is revealed in the data on visible minority status and immigrant status. Females who belonged to visible minority groups had a younger age structure than the overall female population. In 2006, 14% of the total female population were aged 65 and over, while 7.8% of females belonging to a visible minority group were seniors. The percentage of girls aged 14 years and under in the female visible minority population was higher (22%) than in the total female population (17%).
According to the 2006 Census, 8.9% of senior women belonged to a visible minority group in 2006 compared with 21% of girls aged 14 years and under. About 17% of all women aged 15 to 64 reported a visible minority status in 2006. However, among the visible minority population, particular differences emerge by visible minority group according to age (Table 3). Senior women who belonged to the visible minority population were proportionally more likely to be Chinese (35%) compared with girls aged 14 years and under (19%). In contrast, women aged 65 years and over who were Black were proportionally fewer, at 13%, than were girls aged 14 and under, at 19%. Fewer senior women belonged to multiple visible minority groups (1.6%) compared with girls aged 14 and under (4.0%).
Table 3 Females belonging to visible minority groups, by age group, Canada, 2006
The immigrant female population had an older age structure than the overall female population.8 About 20% of immigrant females were aged 65 years and over, while 5.3% were girls aged 14 years and under. Proportionally more senior women were immigrants in 2006 compared with younger women—29% of women aged 65 years and over were immigrants, compared with 22% of women aged 15 to 64 and 6.3% of girls 14 years and under. More than three-fifths (63%) of senior immigrant women were born in Europe—including the United Kingdom (18%) and Italy (11%)—followed by Asia and the Middle East (23%), Central America, South America, the Caribbean and Bermuda (6.7%) and Africa (2.6%). About 4.4% of senior immigrant women were born in the United States. Most senior immigrant women had been in Canada for many years while 3.2% arrived in the 2001-to-2006 period.
Many senior women live in a family context9
Most senior women live in private households; many live as part of a couple. Of women 65 years and over, 46% lived as part of a couple in 2006, as did 76% of senior men. From age 15 to 39, a higher proportion of women were in couples than men, since women tend to be slightly younger than their spouses or partners (Chart 3). By their early forties, roughly equal proportions of women and men were living as part of a couple in 2006 (73% each), but the disparity began to widen from age 45 to 49 onward: fewer women in couples than men reflected not only the age pattern of union formation but also women's higher life expectancy. Although this pattern continued in 2006, it was less pronounced than in the past as recent gains in longevity have been occurring more rapidly for men. The increased proportion of women who were spouses or partners is particularly evident among women in their early seventies. In 1981, 43% of women aged 70 to 74 were part of couples, increasing to 55% in 2006. The percentage of women aged 75 and over with spouses or partners advanced from 23% in 1981 to 31% in 2006. The percentage of men aged 70 to 74 who were part of couples increased from 77% in 1981 to 79% in 2006. Among men aged 75 and over, the corresponding increase was from 65% to 71%. More seniors in couples can be at least partly attributed to Canadians' higher life expectancy, as well as remarriage and union formation at older ages, which can enable relationships to exist well into the senior years.
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