The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) indicated, however, that by 2070 it is expected to decrease by 70,000 people compared to 2062, a 0.13 percent decrease.

This was stated by the organization in the report “Long-Term Care for Older Persons: Demographic and Social Perspectives in the Hispanic Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico.”

The document states that the projection that the subregional population will continue to grow until 2059, reaching 250.1 million inhabitants, has implications for public policy planning, including those for long-term care.

ECLAC noted that, in some countries, changes in the population pyramid are occurring more rapidly than in others, but all are trending toward aging.

The study, which included 10 countries in the region, specified that the Dominican Republic is in an intermediate position between the oldest country in 2024 (Cuba) and the youngest (Haiti).

It explained that, although in all three territories nearly three out of five people are of working age, differences are observed at the extreme groups.

In Haiti, the percentage of children in the total population is double that of Cuba. The opposite occurs in the elderly age group, as the proportion of older adults in the largest of the Antilles is three times higher than in Haiti. The Dominican Republic, for its part, has a percentage of children closer to Haiti’s, and its elderly population is less than half that of Cuba.

By 2070, ECLAC said, the child population of the two nations that share the island of Hispaniola will be higher than that of Cuba, while in all three, the working population will have decreased.

It noted that, along with Mexico, the Dominican Republic will reach its peak population between 2050 and 2070.

In all the nations studied, a decrease in the percentage of children under 15 years of age in the total population is observed. In some, the number of adults surpasses that of children before 2070. In Quisqueya, this is expected to occur in 2047.

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