V. Conclusion

Living arrangements of older persons vary greatly among countries and regions having different development levels. Living with a child or grandchild is the most common type of living arrangement among older persons in Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, and Africa, while in Europe and the United States of America, the most common arrangement is the couple-only household, followed by individuals' living alone. In Africa and Asia, on average about three quarters of those aged 60 years or over are living with a child or grandchild. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the proportion averages about two thirds. In Europe, by contrast, the average is about one fourth. There are, however, major differences in living arrangements between countries in the same region, and some countries in developing regions show levels of solitary living comparable with the average level in Europe. Earlier research has found evidence of a trend towards separate residence of older persons in developed countries and in a few developing countries, particularly in Eastern and Southeastern Asia. The present study confirms this and also finds that the trend is more widespread. In fact, the findings suggest that there is a global trend towards independent forms of living arrangements among older persons—alone or with spouse only—and a corresponding decline in co-residential arrangements. At the same time, the available evidence shows that, in many developing countries, the amount and pace of change are small so far, so that large differences between developed and developing countries will persist for many years. An important exception to the general trend towards separate residence was the increase observed in many countries in the proportion of " skipped-generation " households, in which grandparents live with grandchildren in the absence of the middle generation. The growing toll of HIV/AIDS is likely to be responsible for this trend. Skipped-generation households are common in many developing countries, and undoubtedly have been so for a long time. In many countries of Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, and some Asian countries as well, at least 5 per cent, and sometimes over 15 per cent, of older persons live in skipped-generation households; but it is only the countries with high HIV prevalence that show a systematic recent increase in this type of arrangement. In the countries where at least 10 per cent of adults were infected with HIV as of 2001, the proportion of older persons in skipped-generation households …