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Graphic Truth: How Old Will the World Be in 2050?

The world is getting older. By 2030, the population that is over the age of 65 will rise by nearly 40 percent. By 2050, it will more than double. Aging populations present a host of political and social challenges. How can fewer workers fund a growing population of retirees, many of whom have been promised fat pensions? How can healthcare systems manage a big uptick in chronic diseases like heart disease, cancer, or Alzheimer's without going broke? Is immigration the answer? Or robots? These are just a few of the questions the next generation of political leaders will have to grapple with as our populations get older. Here's a look at which countries are going gray fastest.

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Medical workers treat injured people at Ameth Bek hospital after a drone strike on a market in the disputed Abyei region along the border between South Sudan and Sudan, October 19, 2026.
REUTERS/Medecins Sans Frontieres

South Sudan is accusing neighboring Sudan of launching a drone strike that killed at least 73 people at a market in Abyei, a disputed, oil-rich region of roughly 4,000 square miles claimed by both countries.