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Researching the implications of changing population age structure

The Oxford Institute of Population Ageing was established in 1998.  Based on the US Population Center, it was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Health (National Institute on Aging - NIA) to establish the UK's first population centre on the demography and economics of ageing populations.  It achieved Institute status in 2001.

Our aim is to undertake research into the implications of population change. We are a multi-disciplinary group with demography as our main disciplinary focus, and links into all four University Divisions. Our researchers work in Africa, Latin America, Asia and Europe, and we run the Population Networks AFRAN (Africa) LARNA (Latin America) EAST (Central and Eastern Europe).

"The challenges of ageing are truly multi-disciplinary, require a life-course approach and recognition of the wider age-structural change within which they are occurring. For example without significant improvements in health, population ageing will increase the amount of ill-health and disability. Families and communities will face increasing pressure to balance care with other responsibilities. The productivity and economic success of countries will be increasingly tied to that of older workers. Education and culture will become of even greater importance to enable personal and mental resilience and bring health and well-being across increasingly long lives. Appropriately designed urban environments are required, adapting to people’s changing needs as they age.
As Governments around the world wake up to the challenges and opportunities of an ageing population, the need for robust research to inform policy development has never been more acute.The breadth and depth of the research carried out by colleagues at the Institute – often in collaboration with colleagues from our GLOBAL  research networks – is as impressive as it is impactful, designed to address these challenges."
 
Professor Sarah Harper
Director, Oxford Institute of Population Ageing