“The world is ageing fast. By 2030, there will be more people over 60 than under 10. Already there are more adults over 60 than children under 5. The Global AgeWatch Index has been developed and constructed by HelpAge International from international data sets drawn from the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, the World Bank, World Health Organization, International Labour Organization, UNESCO and the Gallup World Poll. It has benefited from a global advisory panel of more than 40 independent experts in ageing, health, social protection and human development. Data is needed for informed debate on ageing. Policy makers broadly agree that we can and should do better in measuring social and economic progress as a means to promote improvements. The result has been the emergence of a number of different indexes providing evidence that is useful for policy makers. However, none of the existing indexes provides a global picture of how well countries are doing to support the wellbeing of their ageing populations.  For the first time the Global AgeWatch Index makes international comparisons of quality of life in older age possible. The Index is a tool to measure progress and aims to improve the impact of policy and practice on ageing populations. The Index brings together a unique set of internationally comparable data based on older people’s income status, health status, capability (education and employment), and enabling environment. These domains have been selected because they were identified by older people and policy makers alike as key enablers of older people’s wellbeing.’