Changing family structures, living arrangements and care support for the elderly in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries: some policy implications

The mechanisms of population change in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are explored in this paper using data from secondary sources such as is available in the United Nations and the World Bank. The paper attempts to make a comparative study between all the six neighbouring GCC countries of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Bahrain and Kuwait. The determinants of future population changes and ageing in GCC countries are less pronounced in literature (than?) and so the socio-demographic situations as well as an understanding of the positions of the young and older generations are taken into account by examining the changes in family structure, living conditions, and care support for the elderly in the six countries. It has been found that fertility is falling dramatically and life expectancy increasing in all these countries and the issue of care in old age has become a topic of great concern in the region. The implications that all this may have on policy are briefly laid out at the end of the paper.