WORLD: Japan, Italy have the most elderly

. WASHINGTON, USA / Reuters / News / July 20, 2009 The number of people 65 and older around the world will more than double from 506 million to 1.3 billion by 2040, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report. Here are some facts on the aging world population from the report: * Japan, with 22 percent of its population aged 65 or over, is the world's oldest major country * China has the largest elderly population -- 106 million. India comes next with 59.6 million, the United States has 38.7 million, Japan has 27.5 million and Russia has 19.9 million. * By 2040, more than one in four Europeans is likely to be at least 65, and one in seven is likely to be at least 75. * Getting old is no longer just for the rich - 62 percent of all people aged 65 and over now live in the developing countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean and Oceania. * Life expectancy for babies born in Japan and Singapore has reached 82. * French babies will live to be 80.9 on average, while those born in Sweden, Italy, Australia and Canada can expect to live to be more than 80. * U.S. life expectancy is a middling 78, above Tunisia with 75, Guatemala at 70 and AIDS-ravaged Zimbabwe at 39.7 * In 1900, women in Europe and Northern America typically outlived men by two or three years on average but have widened that gap to seven years now. [rc] Reporting by Maggie Fox in Washington Editing by Todd Eastham © Thomson Reuters 2009