According to the United Nations, the global population aged 60 years stood at approximately 962 million in 2017.
This was more than twice as large as in 1980 when there were 382 million older persons worldwide.
The intergovernmental organisation is now expecting this figure to more than double again by 2050. At this point, it is projecting that the global population aged 60 years will reach almost 2.1 billion.
This population shift is widely expected to lead to increased demand for healthcare services over the next three decades. Which could be great news for Australian healthcare shares.
One that has been tipped as a big winner from this tailwind is Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH).
Why Cochlear?
Cochlear is a leading global hearing solutions company. It manufactures some of the highest quality and most popular cochlear implant hearing devices in the world.
While 2020 has been a difficult year because of the pandemic's impact on elective surgeries, a recent update appears to demonstrate that the worst is now over for the company. Furthermore, with potentially effective COVID-19 vaccines not far away, 2021 looks set to be a significantly better year for Cochlear.
Looking further ahead, the expected increase in the over-60 population over the coming decades will be good news for Cochlear. This is because as people age, their hearing will invariably fade and require some form of assistance.
One broker that is positive on the company is Macquarie. It recently put an outperform rating and $241.00 price target on the company's shares. Its research appears to show that Cochlear has been winning market share.
In addition to this, its survey of US audiologists shows that its products are the most highly rated in the industry. The broker feels this bodes well as activity levels recover from the COVID disruption.
