Third of Hongkongers over 80 will have dementia by 2050 as experts warn city is completely unprepared

The number of Hongkongers over the age of 80 will peak after 2050, according to new population projections slated for release at the end of the month, and at least a third of them will have dementia - amid a dire warning by experts that Hong Kong is completely unprepared due to years of inaction.

The new statistics come as the Post learned that an upcoming elderly services planning report - the first since 1991 - will not contain concrete policies for tackling dementia, even though experts tagged the chronic illness as the biggest problem as the city's population ages.

"We're at a watershed point - if we don't start doing something about dementia now, it will be too late," said Law Chi-kwong, social work professor at the University of Hong Kong and chairman of the Community Care Fund task force.

Read more: Singapore, Macau, Japan: Other Asian territories are preparing for dementia 'explosion' but Hong Kong 'has ignored it' 

"Dementia is the most hard-to-deal-with issue created by the ageing population - because we've swept it under the rug for too long," he said.

One in 10 Hongkongers over 65 suffers from dementia, most commonly found in the form of Alzheimer's disease. The rate goes up to one in three among those aged 80 or above. Currently, up to 80,000 people have dementia.

Law said it was those over 80 years old who would demand exponentially more medical, social and community support.

The Hong Kong Alzheimer's Disease Association estimates that dementia-specific costs will amount to US$3.2 billion in 2015.