BusinessMirror

Fewer people but more elderly women

John Mangun

Outside The Box

since the beginning of the 21st century we have been alerted to the fact that the global population is aging, more specifically that many nations are facing both a reduction of population and a growing senior citizen demographic.

With that thought in mind, and that senior citizens are under-represented as Philippine Stock Exchange investors, I will be holding a free seminar for seniors on August 5th centering on answering three questions. Why should senior citizens invest in the stock market? Why is it easier to make money from the stock market than most people believe? Why the best alternative for senior citizen investors may be online trading? If you are interested, please go to our Facebook group “PSE for Seniors” (https://www.facebook.com/ groups/pseforseniors) for details and to register your attendance.

However, there may be another serious demographic problem aside from a growing elderly population. Examining global creation stories, many appearing to take much from an older society, the idea of humans being defined as “male” and “female” dominates. In Kenya, according to Kikuyu creation myth, Ngai created humanity, first man was called Gikuyu, and first woman called Mumbi. In creation itself, while often the result of actions by a non-gendered god, many times a female personification created the world. However, the male’s role was protection and provision being the larger and stronger of the two biological sexes. Females were to nurture and teach, even when they were “god-like.” In the Hopi legend, “Spider Grandmother” taught humans weaving and pottery. Perhaps men invented spears and exploration, and women invented clothes and personal hygiene.

Nonetheless, writing 300 years before the Common Era, Greek playwright Aristophanes summarized what many cultures believed. “There were three genders: male, female, and androgynous. Males were descended from the sun, females from the earth, and those who were androgynous were descended from the moon.” In Native American Navajo society, the Nádleehie were “effeminate males” or “malebodied persons with a feminine nature” and could be what we now call “gender fluid.” Most if not all “ancient” societies acknowledged biological male and female as well as “gender,” mean- ing the function that an individual choses to perform in society. Yet, regardless of gender identity, only biological females can give birth and procreate the species. We now have an aging population because we as species are not having as many babies as before. For example, China’s population has fallen for the first time in 60 years, with the national birth rate hitting a record low—6.77 births per 1,000 people. The population in 2022—1.41 billion—fell by 850,000 from 2021.

Moving forward, the world is facing not only population decline in many countries but also an aging population composed of a majority of females. In 2021, the number of 65+ females overwhelmingly outnumbered males with 50 males to 100 females in Russia, 63 males to 100 females in Vietnam, and an average of 75 males to 100 females in Europe. Put in perspective, a hundred years ago there were nearly equal numbers of women and men aged 65+ in most countries.

Singapore: Birth rate has reached a record low in 2022 with only 35,605 babies born throughout the year.

Italy: Birth rate drops to historic low. Japan: Birth rate declines for 7th consecutive year in 2022 to record low. US: Population Flatlining as Birth Rate Stagnates.

Of great concern also is that fewer females have been born in the 21st century compared to past centuries. The reality is that one male can im-

The tourism mindset that we lack

Street Talk

recen Tly, a frequent traveler relative of mine, despite being a full paying passenger, was bumped off at the gates after lining up for hours for what was apparently an overbooked flight. He then needed to pay to be rebooked, with neither an explanation nor compensation for the inconvenience and stress that he suffered. instead, what he got was a “take it or leave it” attitude from our flag carrier.

On another occasion, my business associates from Indonesia missed their flight simply because the staff at the business lounge did not inform them that their flight was already on its last call. When they asked why they were not told of this, the lounge staff said it was not their responsibility to do so!

We all have our airport stories to tell—the lost baggage, the power pregnate multiple females, but a female can only give birth to one child at a time. returning here the way we Filipinos frequently return to Hong Kong, South Korea or Japan. outages, the toilets that don’t work, etc. It is bad enough that our airport facilities are not as it should be, after spending so much on them all these years. But being given that unwelcome feeling at our gateways can turn off visitors. This is not the way to attract more tourists to our shores.

We all have our airport stories to tell—the lost baggage, the power outages, the toilets that don’t work, etc. It is bad enough that our airport facilities are not as it should be, after spending so much on them all these years. But being given that unwelcome feeling at our gateways can turn off visitors. This is not the way to attract more tourists to our shores.

Indian Nobel Prize-winning economist Amartya Sen coined the term “missing women” in 1990 and that even though women make up the majority of the world’s population, the proportion of women in each country’s population varies drastically from country to country, with some countries having fewer women than men in the reproductive years. However, that ratio changes dramatically with age.

The global 2020 estimate is that the at-birth ratio is 1.07 with more males than females. At the prime reproductive age of 24 to 40, males still outnumber females at 1.03. Only at age 55—and past prime fertility—do females begin to outnumber males and by age 65, there are 100 females for 80 males. For the Philippines, at birth the ratio is 1.05 and at 65 it drops to 100 females for 68 males.

Moving forward, the world is facing not only population decline in many countries but also an aging population composed of a majority of females. In 2021, the number of 65+ females overwhelmingly outnumbered males with 50 males to 100 females in Russia, 63 males to 100 females in Vietnam, and an average of 75 males to 100 females in Europe. Put in perspective, a hundred years ago there were nearly equal numbers of women and men aged 65+ in most countries.

E-mail me at mangun@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter @mangunonmarkets. PSE stock-market information and technical analysis provided by AAA Southeast Equities Inc.

It is not just the airport facilities that need to be addressed. Such infrastructure is a matter of planning and funding. And with the Bulacan and Cavite airports both underway, the seamless airport facilities we experience in foreign shores and we yearn to have here at home will soon come to fruition.

I mention this following the recent branding fiasco involving the Tourism department. Slogans come and go, but what matters more is the experience—in fact, the country experience that begins at the airports. And don’t let the supposed number of annual visitors fool us. First, these numbers pale in comparison to our Asian neighbors. Second, most of these visitors are returning Filipino residents, who complain just the same but need to go home anyway. Third, check these foreign travelers, and seldom do you see foreign tourists

What we are forgetting is the human factor. My two horrible tales earlier should help us appreciate the challenges facing the tourism sector. Why the frequent stories of overbooked flights? Is this just always computer error or could it have been avoided by a more judicious human intervention? Why can’t the lounge staffers go the extra mile of just reminding passengers it is time to board?

Look at our airports. It would be too hard to ignore the many airport personnel just moving around doing nothing while the lines are See “Orbos,” A19