From the results it seems that access to health care has been ranked as the top criterion in this survey. I think that if more qualitative factors such as the respect that elders get, the authority of elders in a family and the joy that interacting with young grand children were considered, the ranking would probably be reversed. I am not an old person yet (at least that's what I like to tell myself), so I can't say if these qualitative factors are more important than healthcare. Perhaps it even varies from person to person. But that only makes it a question that we don't have an answer to. That being the case, the results of the cited study may be questionable.

why complain abt this world when hereafter is secured

make less babies

Growing old or sick in Australia, ranked 14 isn't very good either. I used to work in Australia, at a good level and was paying tax at the highest bracket - at the rate of 60%, till about 5 years ago. As I fell sick, and was not able to work any more ( I can now use a computer, previously not even this). I haven;t received a single penny from the government as yet, and the money which started coming from the government, as the family support income, for the kids, is still less than the money which my wife pays in taxes. In Pakistan, at least you can depend on your family to support you. Here in Australia, I have no family but still my family has sent me some money from oversea, to help me out. I want to go home to Pakistan, but now I am afraid of flying, some mental related problem. I am not insane - just got some problem with heights. Although previously, as my family was in Sydney, and I used to work in Brisbane - I used to fly every Monday morning to Brisbane and come back to Sydney avery Friday evening.

Not true. No doubt that all these above countries have the facility of old homes whereas in Pakistan all senior citizens are whole heartedly taken care by their own families. Even though modern-day facilities are also essential but there is no match for love and care which our elderly people get from their kids and other family members.

Worst example of double standards. Instead of looking at the false indicators, someone should take cognizance of the apathy the old people face in the so called utopias of western world. Pakistan is one of the best country to grow old in, where you have an entire family to look after you regardless of the job opportunities offered by the govt. There are a few things west needs to learn from east. And these useless surveys are always used as a tool to degrade a country's reputation. What a joke, India ranking 73 on the list is a country where millions dont have a home to sleep in. And USA ranked 8th where the govt shuts down over a petty disagreement on budget issue sending 800,000 employees on forced leave. How can one stop laughing?

I'm inclined to be sceptical about that. The chilling loneliness of the elderly in affluent and fragmented societies is a well-known phenomenon too.

Jazak allah

Does Pakistan have a law on old persons? Are there old age homes? India has laws for old persons.

This is totally baseless and bogus report. I do not agree with this biased report. Our elders get a great respect from the family members and are very well treated. Writer mentioned about well being and for his information, well being is at top. The only thing lacks is health care.

Again a survey which does not give a complete picture. It only tells the economic policies of the governments towards elderly, which is definitely not good in Pakistan. But the respect and care our elders get in our society are of the value which we can be proud of. But this element is not covered here in this survey. May be deliberately!!!!!

@SIKANDER: Baseless ? perhaps your elevated self esteem allows you to paint a bogus picture every green and full of bliss yet the fact is Pakistan authorities leave nothing in respect of care of the general population let alone the elderly. Any care given is by offspring and near relatives who often struggle to take care of themselves.

so is it any better to raise a new born inn here..?

@A Rehman: mr eahman still that feelinf i m the best in pakistanis intallecual make pakistan down and down who say india people are not have home to sleep thats pakistani leaders frame and mullahs framein your mind grow up men they survey based on every aspects from economy to care also

The best part to grow old is in Pakistan where the children did not kick them out from the home and they are able to chart and interact with their grand childs. The family and relative takes care when old people are sick and child used all resouces to provided best treatment. The worst thing in Europe or USA to export old parents to old age houses where they always miss their child and kids and does not idea about growing child. If you are living in Pakistan you can have sunny beaches and four weathers and can enjoy the cheap foods.

'Worst' is a default answer for Pakistan in any ranking so why do they even bother researching? Or do they?

When cultures are different , you can not judge anything. Same is the case here. In West or other countries, there is no culture of respecting old ones. What old people require is time ,love & attention. This ismost abundant in South asian countries and hence this is a total cover up.

Worse than Malawi & Rwanda ! We call ourselves Nuclear Power.

This is a wrong comparison. In Sweden and other top countries government taxes are as high as 70% of what you earn whereas in USA it no where near it. Therefore in Sweden government spends the extra taxes in providing you comforts. In USA you save the taxes and spend to provide for yourselves in old age.

Family care of elderly by children makes getting old in Pakistan one of the best features of the society. There are less suicide among retirees and old people than in Western societies. The disparity between rich and poor fsmulies is probably huge in Pakistan. What the west does not realuze that material well being does not necessarily translate to a sense of security or happiness. Also in western countries the bottom 25% lead equally miserable lives. JS

@Zuhaib: Yes! We south Asians, who live in western countries, have experienced that raising a child and going through old age is better in home countries. Lot of support from community and relatives makes life easier, at least that was the case during 50s and 60s when I was growing up.

For all those who seem to think Pakistan is a paradise for the old: how do we really know that for a fact? From the culture of meticulous data gathering and analysis our govt is famous for, I suppose? Yeah right; we haven't even had a census for 15 years. Instead, why not just keep our traps shut until we have a shred of objective information to refute this report.

Pakistan is the worst country to be born in as well.

Pakistan is the worst country to be born in, as well!

this report is looking only at one aspect of growing old I suspect, namely what the state provides for an elderly person. It does not take into account the culture of families looking after their elderly relatives. In the UK, even the indians and Pakistanis have started pushing the elderly to care homes, rather than care for them at home int eh traditional manner. I suspect its all about quality of life, quality of life in care homes is not what its like to be at your home with family around you. So I'm afraid this article is only part of the story.

What a surprise

Grow old in, get born in, learn in, work in, practice religion in, be a woman in - take you pick. Pakistan is worst at them all.

@Mohinder: In Pakistan, no one pays taxes, so, fair is fair.

Pakistan is a better place for elderly people because they are respected and looked after by their children where as in the western countries the old are abandoned by their selfish and materialistic children. However life is difficult in Pakistan for other reasons like poverty,poor law and order situation and non existence of social security system.

@mjk: The surveyor fail to compare apple to apple. In Pakistan parents invest on their children and in return children take responsibility of their parents. Normally old age life in Pakistani villeges is much better in most of the aspects. In western countries, most of the children become under loan when they are studying. When employeed, they have to repay loan and huge taxes to government. Since Govt. collect huge taxes, they provide facilities to old people. However overall conditions in old age homes are not ideal.

Trust me we can be number one from bottom if we try harder.

@A Rehman: So in Pakistan all is well? The poorest in India could be one of the country's best cared for by loved ones as you claim the Pakistani elderly are, but not in economic terms.This survey could be about medical facilities, comfort level achieved in one's old age etc. And in a way this is correct. With age must come the maturity, detachment always which is the healthiest way to live. Old age homes are not taboo and the retired elderly reserve their right to retire into condos or wherever they would like to spend quietly the rest of their lives. Grandparents reserve the right to REFUSE to baby-sit, do you understand that? Would the Pakistani families look after their aged if their fathers and grand fathers refuse to part with their earnings/inheritance. Same holds true for all the south Asians including Indians. So are we entirely unselfish when it comes to caring for our seniors? Age-old homes and nursing homes for the elderly are mushrooming in India for long now and there is nothing to be ashamed of them. With family sizes shrinking and with both spouses working, this becomes the easiest and most natural option. This phase is merely the next step in the level of your national advancement. In Pakistan as each and every family has more no. of children who might be employed or unemployed, you simply have more manpower than all others to care leisurely for the elderly. Not a heartless thing to say, being only practical. And remember, the elderly in the families NEED NOT HAVE TO leave behind everything for us to inherit and enjoy. And what do you know about how the State protects senior citizens in India? Have you heard of 'reverse mortgage after death' for them by banks to protect their rights and interests until they are around? Ref: http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/retirement/reverse-mortgage-a-golden-walking-stick-for-senior-citizen_905328.html Don't compare Pakistan with India in every footing.

Pakistan, for once, cannot be this bad. This analysis may be honest but the workings and assumptions (whatever these are) seem flawed. One of the few good traits of our nation is the concept of extended family which results in the elderly being reasonably looked after, given the financial, medical and other constraints. As a matter of statistical fact, Sweden is considered to be in the top 5 richest nations (per capita GDP at PPP). Statististically also, it and Japan (another rich nation) have the highest suicide per capita in the world. In a survey, not too long ago (cannot remember the source, sorry), Nigeria was listed as the 6th happiest nation, based on worlwide survey of people.

@Naresh: If that makes you feel good, then let it be...

Not to worry mates, our government, has a well laid out plan, Don't let the people get old in the first place, kill them by poor health care, poor diet and nutrition, poor sanitation, poor law and order. See problem solved. We don't agree with this report. majority of our people are not getting old, and the minority ones who are, we don't care as we don't care for the minorities.

Sadly, not a country to be born in, not a country to attend a state school in, not a country to look for medical facilities if you don't have money, not a country to expect protection from the police, not a country to freely observe your religion, not a country to be a sunni, shia, hindu, christian, sikh in, not a country to establish a new business without paying bribes. Worse than Malawi, Nigeria and Rwanda?. I wonder what makes us Pakistanis so arrogant?. You only have to read some of the comments in this newspaper.

We can infer all we need from the top 10. It is based upon North Atlantic perspectives and reflects economic prosperity. One suspects that Global Age Watch set the criteria for assessing quality of life. When we look at the indicators only one has a

My sister in Canada once told me that when she used to go to pick up her kids from school she would find old people sitting on benches outside the school and paying 5-10 $ to kids just to talk to them for a few minutes. Despite all our ills people in our society take care of their old folk just to earn reward from Allah if for no other reason.

This report lacks real insight into the well being and care for the elderly by the immediate families of the aged. The figures are based on what the 'sate' provides which is probably next to 'zero'. Although, to be fair those 'unlucky' elderly persons who have no off springs of their own they do face a bleak future in Pakistan.

eye opener, this is realistic situation, lets face it.

@js: thats the problem, we live in denial that west is bad on one particular parameter and be happy about it. If something is wrong then admit it and do something to make it better instead of saying like this.

There are many sad stories of old age, in the world of 7-billion people,in some countries you have the right to die,by an injection, when you are too old and can not take care of yourself, majority of people are in its favour ,but in the Western world keeping old people in Hospitals and Nursing homes is a Trillion dollar business, so they do not pass this law. I am all out for that law to pass some day.

Truth is if you have financial security you will live a good life regardless of the country you are living in with obviously a few expections.

@Naresh: I totally agree with you. Older people in the US and west has miserable countries. They are isolated and even their own children visit them once a month depending on their time and good relationship with their parents.

Cool dude - and the purpose of your rambling was? Anyhoo, elders in the West are more inclined to be independent and not depend on their kids once they reach a certain age. I'm sure the survey takes into account quality of life, income after retirement, health care, availability of modern meds etc. and not just family support, which means nothing especially when every day you're trying not to get blown up or shot at. Get off your high horse people.

Pakistan is a poor country therefore people who live their are in worst condition. No water, No heat, no Electricity and Poverty. That all adds up & becomes WORST living condition.

@Cool Dude: But you are still a cool dude. Do they use term "dude" in land downunder I thought dude is very Californian term.

This study was conducted by United Nations and I do not believe has any political motive to show Pakistan at the lower end of the index. It is a fact of life when economic conditions are bad everybody is adversely effected simply because even the adult children are not making a good living than how can they provide better life to their elderly parents. Granted south Asians do provide generally better care and support to their parents but if health system is in shambles for masses how do you expect it to provide good medical care to poor elderly. We should recognize our shortcoming before criticizing the organization that conduct these research not to malign some countries but to understand how the elderly are doing in this world. Mansoor Khan

The needs of older people are completely ignored in this survey. The indices used are good for quality of life but to suggest that older people need employability is to miss the point altogether. What older people need is care by other people and especially, love and affection. The top ten countries have cultures that offer nothing like that, the old have lonely, depressive, hollow lives where everyday is spent waiting to die. By contrast, in useless old Pakistan older people get love from all ages, as well as attention and frequently a great deal of care. Getting old does not mean getting cast aside, it means continuing as an integral unit of existence. In quality of aging, Pakistan is near the top of the list, except when all the children have left for abroad and the older people have no family to care for them. At that point their lives become as good or as bad as that of the top ten.

Read the article first before jumping to conclusions. It clearly stats that the data was based on older people's incomes, health, education, employment and their environments. There is no government planned pension for old people unless they had worked for the govt. So old and retired folks have no choice but to depend on their children to support them. And got forbid if you have no kids to support you! Same goes for health - no special health care services offered by the govt available for seniors. Get out of the cities and there will be hardly any schools for young ones so educational services available for elderly are non existent. Now as for employment ... seriously how many businesses will consider a 60+ or older person for hiring? Now all we are left with is environment - and basically that is what all of you are jumping up and down about. Yes we love and respect our elderly folks no doubt about it but that is not the only thing one needs during old age. So lets not pretend that Pakistan is the best place to get old at.

With so much of bombing and violence in Pak everyday and everywhere, I wonder, if someone will really be alive to see the old age :-)

Very True..Worst place for people of all ages !!

@M aslam: In a country where most people who take loans do not return, I am not surprised that you have problems understanding that loans have to returned. Giving loans to EVERY student who wants to go to University is fantastic and allows everyone on equal basis to enter university, irrespective of their financial background. Also, the loans are given at a hugely preferential rate and the return of the loan only becomes due when the students start earning a reasonable sum. Although I have lived in he West for 26 years, unfortunately I can not make a blanket statement like you, comparing Pakistani villages to Western countries as it is important to know which Western country you were referring to. They all are different. Try to learn to respect others for what they are. Western culture is very different from the culture in Pakistan. Nobody lies here, no one tries to hurt anyone, murders are rare, hospitals provide free health services, police do their job without taking bribes, state schools provide excellent education, all religions are treated equally, people are tolerant and love their country....dare I say more.

@Khan: You comment is insensitive and you don't know anything about the West. I really hope Pakistanis will learn to respect people who do not look like them, don't follow the same religion and mind their own business.