By Azam Tariq

Pakistan’s elderly population is projected to rise more than 2.5-fold by 2050, creating growing pressure on healthcare and income-support systems while opening opportunities for professional care services, skilled employment and a wider “silver economy”, health and development experts say.

The latest National and Provincial Level Population Projections 2023–2050, released by the National Institute of Population Studies (NIPS), project Pakistan’s population aged 65 and above to increase from 8.6 million in 2023 to 22.6 million by 2050.

The report says the increase signals the need for greater investment in elder care and social protection and calls for forward-looking policies covering healthcare, social protection and inclusive labour markets.

The demographic shift means Pakistan will have to prepare its health and social-protection systems for a substantially larger elderly population while developing ways to keep older citizens economically and socially engaged.

The implications are already visible in formal old-age protection. According to the Pakistan Economic Survey 2025-26, the Employees’ Old-Age Benefits Institution (EOBI) had 322,751 active old-age pensioners during July-March FY2026 and disbursed Rs31.54 billion in old-age pensions during the period.

Experts say preparations need to begin well before demand for healthcare, long-term care and income security becomes substantially larger.

Speaking to Wealth Pakistan, Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Executive Director of the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), said Pakistan should increasingly approach the issue as “ageing for development” rather than viewing older people only as welfare recipients.

He said today’s young population would eventually grow older with decades of accumulated knowledge and experience, making it important to develop systems through which senior citizens could continue contributing to economic and social development.

Development policy, he said, needed to become more inclusive across age groups so Pakistan could benefit from the experience of older citizens while preparing its institutions for the demographic transition.

Healthcare will be a central part of that preparation. Pakistan has already established a National Technical Working Group on Healthy Ageing under the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, which has been working on a policy framework and stronger health-system responses for older people.

Syed Moeez Ud Din Kakakhel, Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation for Ageing and Inclusive Development (FAID), told Wealth Pakistan that Pakistan needed to strengthen geriatric expertise, expand home-based care and develop professional training for people providing elderly-care services.

He said the demographic shift should also be viewed as an economic opportunity rather than solely as a future fiscal burden.

Growing demand for home-based care, assistive technologies, specialised healthcare, financial products and wellness services could support the development of a domestic silver economy while creating employment and business opportunities for younger workers.

Kakakhel said Pakistan could train nurses, home-based workers and other professional care providers while encouraging young people to establish care-related businesses and enterprises. Such capacity would help meet rising domestic demand as the population ages.

Dr Kemal Aydin, gerontologist and President of the Ibn Sina Institute and the World Ageing Organization, told Wealth Pakistan that the care economy could also create international employment opportunities for Pakistan.

He said ageing societies in Europe and elsewhere increasingly required trained caregivers and health professionals, giving Pakistan an opportunity to develop skills in nursing, physiotherapy, psychology, social work, nutrition, home healthcare and specialised elderly-care management.

A properly trained workforce, he said, could serve Pakistan’s growing domestic care requirements while also responding to international demand for skilled elderly-care professionals.

Aydin also advocated greater use of hospital-at-home and community-based care, under which older patients who do not require prolonged hospitalisation could receive professional support while remaining within familiar family and community settings.

He said Pakistan should strengthen geriatric education and consider developing centres linked to universities and teaching hospitals that combine healthcare, professional training, research and community-care services.

Pakistan’s ageing transition therefore presents both a health-system challenge and an economic-policy opportunity. The projected increase in the elderly population will raise demand for healthcare, long-term care and income security, while early investment in geriatric training, community-based services and a professional care workforce could create new jobs and businesses.

Experts say preparing now could allow Pakistan to build a care economy capable of supporting a rapidly growing elderly population while turning demographic change into opportunities for employment, skills development and new economic activity.

Credit: INP-WealthPk