Living arrangements and social support of elderly in South India

While the current level of ageing in India is not as advanced as in Europe or East Asia, the rapid declines in fertility and increases in longevity, especially in South India, have set the stage for rapid ageing in the coming decades. In 2001, there were about 18 million people aged 60 or over (about 8 percent of the population) in South India, a region comprising of the four southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. And in the coming decades this is projected to increase substantially. When this happens, in contrast with other advanced countries or regions, South India will have an ageing population before it is wealthy and before institutional support structures are in place to meet the needs of the elderly. Families, the traditional source of support for the elderly in South India, are getting smaller as result of reduction in fertility and, in rural areas, due to migration. Thus, elderly are increasingly deprived of many aspects of family support in their daily lives. Using both quantitative and qualitative data, this paper will examine the living arrangements of the elderly and its influence on the nature of social support.