New Zealand's support of employment for people aged 55 and over has placed them as the 10th best country in the world for the elderly, according to a quality of life study for aged people.
Scandinavian countries have again topped the Global AgeWatch Index of 96 countries with Norway clearly overtaking Sweden based on income, health, capability and enabling environment factors.
New Zealand performed well with a strong education rate and good health expected among citizens until they reach 80.
Afghanistan stayed at the bottom of the list with its 60-year-olds expected to hit poor health before they turned 70 and low scores on safety, freedom and social connections.
Australia moved up one place to 13 as Austria and Ireland fell down the ranks.
Australia ranked second overall in capability, with almost the entire population over 60 holding secondary or higher education, and a high percentage (67.4) of over 55s still in work.
We also picked up points for having outstanding mental wellbeing and general health.
The country was let down in the area of income security coming in at 61 due to a high old age poverty rate (35.5%) and poor relative welfare.
Seniors group COTA Australia chief executive Ian Yates said the study should prompt the federal government to drop the proposed changes to the age pension.
"While it is pleasing to see we rate well on health and employment, the income security of Australia's older people is comparable to that of Thailand, Ecuador and Bolivia," Mr Yates said.
"That's a pretty poor reflection on how we are managing retirement incomes in this country."
"We will slide even further down the scale if the Abbott government continues the push to make Australian pensioners the oldest in the world and cut the pension rate through changes to indexation."
Overall, Canada ranked fourth, the USA stayed in eighth and the UK ended up 12th.
China has 201 million people over the age of 60 and 24 per cent of those people are living in poverty.
The world’s biggest country slipped from 35th to 48th place, having lost marks in every sector.
The holidaymaker’s paradise of Greece sank below Poland to become Europe’s worst place to grow old, bottoming out at number 73.
Greece’s psychological wellbeing improved at a time when the employment rate of over 55s plummeted.
Five new countries were added to the list - Bangladesh, Iraq, Mozambique, Uganda and Zambia, most of which fell in the bottom 10.
The report was released on the United Nations International Day of Older Persons to provide data in aid of policymaking.
Top 10 countries for over 60s
1. Norway
2. Sweden
3. Switzerland
4. Canada
5. Germany
6. Netherlands
7. Iceland
8. USA
9. Japan
10. New Zealand
(13. Australia)
Bottom 10 countries for over 60s
86. Iraq
87. Zambia
89. Uganda
90. Jordan
91. Pakistan
92. Tanzania
93. Malawi
94.West Bank and Gaza
95. Mozambique
96. Afghanistan
- With AAP
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