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IN PHOTOS | Kerala's aging citizens buck India's booming population

Elderly men and youth participate in a church procession in Kochi, Kerala. In the coastal state, the ageing population provides a stark contrast to the young India of the north. (Photo | AP)
Elderly men and youth participate in a church procession in Kochi, Kerala. In the coastal state, the ageing population provides a stark contrast to the young India of the north. (Photo | AP)
Associated Press
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The most literate state in India, Kerala is also the fastest ageing part of the country. (Photo | AP)
The most literate state in India, Kerala is also the fastest ageing part of the country. (Photo | AP)
In the last 60 years, the percentage of those aged 60 and over in India's Kerala state has shot up from 5.1% to 16.5% — the highest proportion in any state. (Photo | AP)
In the last 60 years, the percentage of those aged 60 and over in India's Kerala state has shot up from 5.1% to 16.5% — the highest proportion in any state. (Photo | AP)
Pensioners walk in a procession as hundreds of them gather for an annual meeting in Piravom, Kerala. (Photo | AP)
Pensioners walk in a procession as hundreds of them gather for an annual meeting in Piravom, Kerala. (Photo | AP)
V Baby, 84, a retired math professor and his wife Vasanthi, 82 years, share a room at the Signature Aged Care in Kochi. The couple tried living in their home for a few years but with age-related health conditions catching up and unable to maintain the enormous home, they took a call to move to the assisted living centre which is just a few kilometres from their home. (Photo | AP)
V Baby, 84, a retired math professor and his wife Vasanthi, 82 years, share a room at the Signature Aged Care in Kochi. The couple tried living in their home for a few years but with age-related health conditions catching up and unable to maintain the enormous home, they took a call to move to the assisted living centre which is just a few kilometres from their home. (Photo | AP)
A cyclist pedals past a wall filled with advertisements for a visa consultant firm in Kochi. (Photo | AP)
A cyclist pedals past a wall filled with advertisements for a visa consultant firm in Kochi. (Photo | AP)
Zainaba Ali, 60, displays her passport as she stands inside her daughter's house where she lives at a colony in the Mattancherry area of Kochi, Kerala, on March 6, 2023. The colony is home to mostly low-income families living as 5-6 people in accommodations smaller than 200 square feet per house. Ali spent most of her youth working in the Middle East as a domestic help but has little savings to show for it. She developed arthritis and a slew of other health conditions during those decades of long days and hard work. She was forced to return to India when she was no longer able to work. (Photo | AP)
Zainaba Ali, 60, displays her passport as she stands inside her daughter's house where she lives at a colony in the Mattancherry area of Kochi, Kerala, on March 6, 2023. The colony is home to mostly low-income families living as 5-6 people in accommodations smaller than 200 square feet per house. Ali spent most of her youth working in the Middle East as a domestic help but has little savings to show for it. She developed arthritis and a slew of other health conditions during those decades of long days and hard work. She was forced to return to India when she was no longer able to work. (Photo | AP)
K A Chacko, 85, spends time reading the Bible at the Signature Senior living facility in Kochi. (Photo | AP)
K A Chacko, 85, spends time reading the Bible at the Signature Senior living facility in Kochi. (Photo | AP)
Mini, a nurse, trims the nails of an elderly woman Saradammal at Signature Aged Care in Kochi. (Photo | AP)
Mini, a nurse, trims the nails of an elderly woman Saradammal at Signature Aged Care in Kochi. (Photo | AP)
A staffer sun dries the clothes of residents at the Signature senior living facility in Kochi, Kerala state, India, March 6, 2023. “Getting qualified employees is a big challenge today and bringing people from other states doesn’t always work because of language barriers,” said Alex Joseph, the managing trustee of the facility. Joseph added that getting staff from within Kerala is also difficult since most of them aspire to migrate abroad for work. (Photo | AP)
A staffer sun dries the clothes of residents at the Signature senior living facility in Kochi, Kerala state, India, March 6, 2023. “Getting qualified employees is a big challenge today and bringing people from other states doesn’t always work because of language barriers,” said Alex Joseph, the managing trustee of the facility. Joseph added that getting staff from within Kerala is also difficult since most of them aspire to migrate abroad for work. (Photo | AP)
senior citizens
India Population
elderly population

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