National Elderly Day in Indonesia Date in the current year: May 29, 2024

The issue of the welfare of elderly people in Indonesia is very relevant because average live expectancy has increased significantly since the proclamation of the country’s independence (from 45 years in 1945 to 71 years in 2015), and the percentage of the elderly population has grown accordingly. According to the 2010 Indonesian Population Census, there were about 18 million people over 60 years old in Indonesia. The United Nations has predicted that the percentage of older people in Indonesia will reach 25% (or nearly 74 million people) in 2050.

On the one hand, population aging indicates the positive effects of development programs such as housing, nutrition, cleaner drinking water, sanitation, health and family planning. On the other hand, increased life expectancy and subsequent growth of the elderly population also poses a number of challenges, such as the increasing number of people suffering from chronic diseases and unsatisfactory quality of life of many elderly people. Although a lot of elderly people in Indonesia lead happy and healthy lives, approximately 2.9 million of them are being neglected by their families or have limited access to health care and other social services.

National Elderly Day was created to address these challenges. It was established by President Suharto in 1996. The holiday is celebrated to commemorate the opening day of the first plenary meeting of the Investigating Committee for Preparatory Work for Independence. The chairman of the Committee was Dr. Radjiman Wediodiningrat who was 66 at the time, so such a date was chosen to emphasize that elderly people can take an active part in public and political life, taking advantage of their extensive life experience.

In 1998, the parliament of Indonesia adopted the Law on Elderly Welfare, which defined the term “elderly” as a person who is aged 60 or older. To acknowledge the contribution of the elderly population to the society, the government of Indonesia established the National Committee for the Elderly (also known as the National Commission for the Protection of the Elderly Population) and developed the National Elderly Action Plan. The main goal of the Committee is to coordinate the efforts of various organizations and institutions to improve the social welfare of the elderly people in Indonesia.

National Elderly Day in Indonesia is marked with various activities involving the elderly, for example, various competitions, gymnastics classes, various seminars and discussions on the welfare of the elderly people, and delivery of aid packages for the elderly. Such activities are organized by local governments all over the country.