Ageing is a global phenomenon and the population of the elderly, people aged 60 years and over, is growing rapidly. Evidently, the world’s aged increased from 130 million in 1950 to 419 million in 2000, a proportional share increase from 4 per cent to 7 per cent respectively (Waite, 2004). Nearly 10 per cent of the world’s population or over 600 million persons are over the age of 60, and this is expected to double by 2050. About two-thirds of these 600 million persons live in developing countries (Schwarz, 2003).
