There are 3,888,555 persons aged 65 and over in Canada, which represents 13% of the total population (30,007,090).   The 959,820 persons aged 65 and over surveyed in Quebec in 2001 represent a diversified group that makes up 13.3% of the total population.   In Quebec, life expectancy is 76 years for men and 81.8 years for women.   In 1999-2000, the life expectancy or the average life, at age 65, is 16.3 years more for men and 20.3 years more for women. Women aged 65 and over can expect to live 4 years longer than men of the same age.   Slightly over half (51.7%) of elderly people are married, 9.2% are bachelors, 30.9% are widowed, 5.3% are divorced and 2.9% common-law partners.   Some 12% of men aged 65 and over are widowed, while that percentage jumps to 44% among women. This important difference can be explained by the excess mortality among men and the difference of age between partners at the time of the wedding.   Slightly over half (56%) of persons aged 65 and over live in a family as spouses or parents, while slightly over a quarter (28%) live alone. One out of 10 lives in a collective household, and 4% live with other persons.   The average income of persons aged 65 and over in Quebec was $27,496.00 for men and $17,279.00 for women in 2000.   Generally, elders are in good health, but they report more health problems than other generations.   Nearly 23% of persons aged 65 and over consider themselves to be in average or bad health.   Psychological distress affects elders slightly less than it affects the total population.   In Canada, 23.3% of persons aged 65 to 74, and 42.9% of persons aged 75 and over report mobility problems. Women are more likely to experience mobility problems. Among women with a disability, 84% report difficulties moving about, compared to 70% of disabled men aged 65 and over.   Among adults aged 65 and over, 4.3% report being limited by memory problems or periods of confusion. Disabled men aged 65 and over were more likely to be limited in their activities by memory problems (12,5%), compared to disabled women in the same age group 9.1%).   1 Source: Statistique Canada, 2001 Census. Health data were taken from a publication of Institut national de santé publique du Québec entitled "Le portrait de santé", ed. 2001, while data concerning disability were taken from the StatsCan survey entitled "A profil of disability in Canada, 2001". Questions and comments Rights and Freedoms for All Ages | Elder persons | Charter | Participate Publications | Links | Back to CDPDJ © 2000-2001 and 2004 Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse.