Health of older people

Introduction

The number of older people in Australia continues to grow as Australia’s population is ageing, with older Australians also comprising an increasingly larger portion of the overall population (ABS 2014; ABS 2025). The prevalence of many health conditions also increases with age. This has led to an increased demand on health and aged care services. It is important that we continue to assess the health status of older populations and their health service use so that health system planners have the information they need to plan for the care of our older population. Disability, burden of disease, injuries, and life expectancy all play a role in determining how we provide care for older people in Australia.

Throughout this page, ‘older people’ refers to people aged 65 and over.

For information on older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) people, see Older Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

Self-assessed health

Self-assessed health is an overall measure of a person’s health status using a single question in a survey ('In general, would you say your health is: excellent, very good, good, fair or poor?'). It is a good predictor of mortality, particularly in older people. A review of 28 studies found that older people’s ratings of their own health were consistently related to medium and long-term mortality (Dramé, Cantegrit and Godaert 2023).

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) National Health Survey (NHS) in 2022 (ABS 2022a), an estimated 3 in 4 (74%) people aged 65 and over reported their health as good, very good or excellent including:

• 42% who reported their health as being very good or excellent, and
• 32% who reported their health as being good.

In this same group, 26% reported their health as being fair or poor.

Despite differences in burden of disease and life expectancy, there was no difference in the way that males and females aged 65 and over self-assessed their health (ABS 2022a).

However, there were some differences by age group. People aged 65–74 were more likely to report their health as very good or excellent (46%) than people aged 75 and over (36%), and less likely to report their health as fair or poor (22% for people aged 65–74 and 31% for people aged 75 and over) (ABS 2022a) (Figure 3A.1). The two age groups had the same proportions that rated their health as ‘good’ (22% and 23%).

Disability

According to the ABS Survey of Disability, Ageing and Carers (SDAC) 2022 (ABS 2022b), over half (52%) of people aged 65 and over had disability. In the SDAC, a person is considered to have disability if they have any limitation, restriction or impairment which restricts everyday activities, and has lasted, or is likely to last, for 6 months or more. The prevalence of disability among people aged 65 and over has increased in recent years, rising to 52.3% in 2022 compared to 49.6% in 2018. 

The proportion of people with disability increased with age in 2022, rising from 40% of people aged 65–69 to 83% of those 90 and over (Figure 3A.2). The number of people living with disability also increased for many of the age groups in 2022 compared to previous years. This increase in disability will contribute to a greater need for assistance at older ages and is likely a trigger for needing formal support services such as aged care. 

There is very little difference in disability rates between males and females. Among people aged 65 and over in 2022, 53% of males and 52% of females had disability (AIHW 2026).

For more information, see Disability and Aged care.

People can experience different levels of disability. The severity of disability is defined by whether a person needs help, has difficulty, or uses aids or equipment with 3 core activities of communication, mobility or self-care, and is grouped for mild, moderate, severe and profound limitation. In 2022, over 1 in 5 (22%) people aged 65 and over had severe or profound disability (that is, they sometimes or always needed help with self-care, mobility or communication). This is an increase of over 20% from 2018 when the proportion was only 18% (AIHW 2024b).

Life expectancy

Life expectancy is one way to understand how long, on average, people can be expected to live based on current mortality rates. The measure is not a prediction, rather it is useful for comparisons between population groups and for considering changes over time. It is a common way to assess a population’s overall health.

Life expectancy in Australia has improved dramatically for both sexes in the last century. This is particularly the case for life expectancy at birth. Compared with children born in 1920–1922, both boys and girls born in 2020–2024 can expect to live around 22 years longer (AIHW 2025a). The life expectancy at birth in 2022–2024 was 81.1 years for boys and 85.1 years for girls (ABS 2022–2024)

Another way to measure life expectancy is through the remaining life expectancy at a given age. Males aged 65 in 2022–2024 could expect to live another 20.1 years (an expected age at death of 85.1 years), and females aged 65 in 2022–2024 could expect to live another 22.7 years (an expected age at death of 87.7 years) (Figure 3A.3) (ABS 2022–2024). At age 85, males can now expect to live for an additional 6.4 years in 2022–24 and females for an additional 7.4 years in 2022–24.

Health-adjusted life expectancy

Health-adjusted life expectancy extends the concept of life expectancy by considering the time spent living with ill health due to disease and injury. It reflects the length of time an individual at a specific age could expect to live in full health (without significant disease or injury). It is most meaningful when compared with life expectancy. 

As with life expectancy, it is useful to measure health-adjusted life expectancy at age 65, to describe health in an ageing population. In 2024, at the age of 65:

• Males could expect to live another 15 years of life in full health (75% of their total remaining years of life).
• Females could expect to live another 17 years of life in full health (73% of their total remaining years of life).
• People aged 65 in 2024 can expect to live about a quarter of their remaining lives with some level of ill health (25% for males 27% for females) (AIHW 2024a).

Time spent in ill health can prompt the need for support services or help with daily activities. This could be informal support from friends or family, or the need for formal support such as home care or residential aged care.

Between 2003 and 2024, increases in health-adjusted life expectancy for people aged 65 were slightly smaller than those seen for life expectancy alone. For both males and females the expected number of years lived in ill health increased by 0.7 years between 2003 and 2024, from 4.4 to 5.1 years for males and from 5.4 to 6.1 years for females. The expected number of years lived in full health also increased, by 2.0 years for males (13.4 years in 2003 to 15.4 years in 2024) and by 1.1 years for females (15.7 years to 16.8 years).

For more information, see Burden of disease.

Disability-free life expectancy

Disability-free life expectancy is a measure that provides the estimated number of years the average person can expect to live without disability.

Disability-free life expectancy is different to health-adjusted life expectancy presented above. Health-adjusted life expectancy includes the experience of ill health and the impact of the health-related consequences; disability‑free life expectancy encompasses a broader scope of functional limitations of disability and selected long-term conditions.

It is important to note that disability does not necessarily equate to poor health or illness, and expected years living with disability should not be considered as being of less value than years without disability (AIHW 2024b). 

Males aged 65 in 2022 can expect to live another: 

• 8.9 years without disability 
• 11.3 years with some level of disability, including around 4.6 years with severe or profound disability. 

Females aged 65 in 2022 can expect to live another: 

• 10.0 years without disability 
• 12.9 years with some level of disability, including around 6.4 years with severe or profound disability. 

For people aged 65 in 2022, this equates to living over half of their remaining lives with some level of disability (56% for both males and females) (AIHW 2026). Males aged over 65 can expect to live 22% of their remaining lives with severe or profound disability, and females to live 28% of their remaining lives with severe or profound disability in 2022 (AIHW 2024b, AIHW 2026).

For more information, see People with disability in Australia.

Causes of death

In Australia in 2024, there were around 157,000 deaths of people aged 65 and over (84% of all deaths) (Table 3A.1), a drop from almost 160,000 in 2022. The median age at death for all people in 2024 was the same as in 2022, at 80 years for males and 85 years for females (ABS 2024b).

Note: Year refers to year of registration of death. Total population for 2024 is the ABS estimated residential population published by ABS.

Sources: Deaths - ABS 2024b. Population estimates - ABS 2024c

Dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, was the overall leading cause of death among all people aged 65 and over in 2024, closely followed by coronary heart disease (ABS 2024a). Dementia and coronary heart disease were also the first and second leading causes of death for the whole population. However, there were some notable differences in the leading cause of death across the older age groups (Figure 3A.4). In 2024, the leading cause of death for people aged 65–74 was lung cancer (2,796), followed by coronary heart disease (2,518). Dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease, ranked ninth for this age group (834 deaths). For all older age groups (75 years or older), dementia was the leading cause of death, followed by coronary heart disease. Other leading causes of death for the older age groups included chronic respiratory conditions and cerebrovascular disease, and in the two oldest age groups (95–99 years and 100+ years), accidental falls.

Males and females had different leading causes of death in the younger age groups. Coronary heart disease was the leading cause for males aged 65–74 years and 75–84 years. For females aged 65–74, the leading cause was lung cancer and for all other older age groups in females, it was dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease (ABS 2024a).

For more information on dementia, see Dementia.

Suicide

Suicide affects all age groups, including older people, and has a profound impact on family, friends, and the community. The AIHW respectfully acknowledges those who have died or have been affected by suicide or intentional self-harm.

In 2024, there were 575 deaths by suicide among people aged 65 and over, accounting for 0.4% of deaths in this age group. Three in four of these deaths were among males (77%, 444 deaths). Deaths among people aged 65 and over represented 17% of total deaths by suicide in the population (Table 3A.2).

Note: Year refers to year of registration of death. Causes of death data for 2024 is preliminary and subject to a revision process.
Source: ABS 2024a.

The number of deaths by suicide is highest among people aged 25 to 59, and decreases in older age groups. While number of deaths are lower in the older age groups, deaths by suicide have a significant impact in this population. Taking into account population size, the highest rates of deaths by suicide in 2024 were among males aged 85 and over (31 deaths per 100,000 population) (ABS 2024a). 

For more information, see Suicide & self-harm monitoring. 

Burden of disease

Burden of disease is a measure of the healthy years of life and good health lost due to dying prematurely or living with ill health (disability). It is comprised of:

• years of health lost due to living with disability (non-fatal burden), and 
• years of life lost due to dying prematurely (fatal burden). 

In 2024, people aged 65 and over lost close to 2.7 million years of healthy life due to illness or premature death. This is an increase from 1.7 million years in 2003. Much of this increase can be explained by the larger proportion of people in Australia aged 65 and over in 2024 (17%) than in 2003 (13%). Fatal burden accounted for 58% of years lost for people aged 65 and over (1.6 million years), and non-fatal burden contributed the remaining 42% (1.1 million years) (AIHW 2024b). 

Older Australians account for a large share of the total burden of disease. In 2024, the years of healthy life and health lost for people aged 65 and over represented 46% of the total burden of disease in Australia. 

The contribution to total burden of disease increases with age up to the 75–79 year age group, despite accounting for a smaller proportion of the population (Figure 3A.5). For example, people aged 65–69 made up 5.0% of the population, but contributed 8.4% of the total burden, while people aged 70 and over made up 3.6% of the population, but contributed 9.8% of the total burden (AIHW 2024b). 

The rate of burden adjusts for population size and is expressed as the years of burden per person. In contrast to the total number of years of healthy life lost due to illness or premature death in Australia (total burden), which decreases in the older age groups, the rate of burden (which adjusts for population size) increases steeply as people age. The rate of burden for people aged 95–99 or 100+ is over three times higher than for people aged 65–69 years.

In 2024, males contributed to more total burden of disease than females between the ages of 65 to 84 (Figure 3A.6). For this age group, 53% of the total burden was contributed by males and 47% by females. However, for ages 85 and over – where females make up 60% of the population – females contributed to more burden than males (57% and 43%, respectively) (AIHW 2024a). For both groups, the burden rate increases sharply as people aged.

When we break down burden into fatal and non-fatal burden, among people aged 65 and over, males contributed more to fatal burden (55% of the total 1.55 million years of healthy life lost). Females contributed more to non-fatal burden (55% of the total 1.13 million years of healthy life lost) (AIHW 2024a).

In 2024, males contributed to more burden of disease than females between the ages of 65 and 84 (53% compared with 47%). However, from ages 85 and over – where females make up 60% of the population – females contributed to more burden than males (57% compared with 43%) (AIHW 2024a) (Figure 3A.6).

Among people aged 65 and over, males contributed more to fatal burden (55% of 1.55 million YLL) and females contributed more to non-fatal burden (55% of 1.13 million YLD) (AIHW 2024a).

Leading causes of burden of disease

In 2024, coronary heart disease, dementia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were the leading disease groups causing total burden of disease (fatal and non-fatal combined) for people aged 65 and over (Figure 3A.7) (AIHW 2024a). Among these top disease groups, the rate of burden per 1,000 people increased with age (AIHW 2024a). For males, prostate cancer was among the top five disease groups for all age groups over 80, while for females, stroke was a leading cause of burden of disease.

Injuries

Most injuries, whether unintentional or intentional, are preventable (WHO 2021). Injuries can be minor with a full recovery, or more serious and cause lasting health problems. More serious injuries can lead to hospital admission or emergency department visits, and even lead to death. 

Injuries can happen to anyone, but older people are at particularly high risk of hospitalisation and death for certain injuries. As a result, overall injury hospitalisation and death rates are higher for older people than younger people.

In 2023–24, 1 in 3 (34%, or around 199,800) injury hospitalisations involved people aged 65 and over. This included 116,500 hospitalisations for females aged 65 or older (45% of injury hospitalisations for females of all ages) and 83,300 for males aged 65 or older (26% of injury hospitalisations for males of all ages). Age-specific injury hospitalisation rates rose considerably from the age of 65, from around 2,200 per 100,000 people for the 65–69 age group, to 16,700 per 100,000 for the 95 and over age group (Figure 3A.8) (AIHW 2025b). Males and females had similar rates of hospitalised injury for people aged 65–69, at around 2,200 per 100,000 people, but for all other age groups females had higher rates, with the biggest difference occurring for people aged 85–89 (10,300 per 100,000 for females compared to 8,800 for males) (AIHW 2025b).

In 2022–23, there were 9,100 injury deaths among people aged 65 and over, 70% of which were due to falls. Among females, almost all (97%) deaths due to falls involved those aged 65 and over (AIHW 2025b).

Where do I go for more information?

For more information on health status and functioning, see:

• Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) National Health Survey
• People with disability in Australia
• Deaths in Australia
• Burden of disease

Elsewhere in this report, information about older people’s health is available on health risk factors, health service use and selected health conditions.

For more information on this topic, see Older people.