From Data to Dialogue: Empowering Community Diagnosis and Relevance for Brunei

Brunei is a small country in Southeast Asia, with a population of approximately 440,000. It is predicted that Brunei will transition from an aging population to an aged population (from 7% to 14% of its population aged 65 years and older) within 13 years.1 This is almost twice the rate of Japan, the oldest country worldwide, which took 25 years for this demographic transition.1 Although Brunei is currently implementing several initiatives recommended by the World Health Organization, such as healthy aging,1 age-friendly communities,2 and integrated care for older people (ICOPE),3 it is also imperative to learn from the Japan experience in planning for an aging society.