The world stands on the threshold of a stunning demographic transformation. Over the next few decades, global aging will affect everything from the shape of the family to the shape of the geopolitical order. Perhaps most fatefully, it could throw into question the ability of societies to provide a decent standard of living for the old without imposing a crushing burden on the young. Which countries are most prepared to meet the challenge? And which countries are least prepared? CSIS’s Global Aging Preparedness Index, now available in a second thoroughly updated edition, provides the only comprehensive quantitative assessment of the progress that countries worldwide are making in preparing for global aging, and especially the old-age dependency dimension of the challenge.

Richard Jackson is a senior fellow and director of the Global Aging Initiative at CSIS. Neil Howe is a senior associate with the Global Aging Initiative at CSIS and a senior adviser to the Concord Coalition. Tobias Peter, currently a student at the Kennedy School Government at Harvard University, was a program coordinator and research assistant with the Global Aging Initiative at CSIS.