South Indian states lead with 62% share of the senior living housing segment

South Indian states, including Bengaluru, lead with 62% share of the organized senior living and care segment followed by the north zone with 25% and the central states with 13%, said a new report by CBRE titled ‘Golden opportunities from the silver economy – analyzing the future of senior care in India’.
On a pan-India basis, the senior care landscape is rapidly evolving, with 18,000 units spread throughout the nation. The southern region distinctly leads by contributing about 62% to the overall supply in organized senior living and care segments, it said.
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Major players in the senior care segment are concentrated in southern tier-I and II cities such as Chennai, Coimbatore, and Bengaluru. Future expansion of the senior care units by major players is concentrated in the cities of Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Coimbatore, Pune and NCR.
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The prominent zones other than south India include the north zone — comprising Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh, which holds 25% of the market share of senior living and care units followed by the central zone, which includes Maharashtra, Gujarat, West Bengal, and Madhya Pradesh and accounts for 13% of the senior living units. 
The distribution is sparse in northern and western regions, including cities such as Delhi-NCR, Pune, and Jaipur, with a limited presence of senior care players, the report showed.
The target population for senior living focuses on individuals aged 60 and above. India’s current penetration rate for senior living stands at less than 1%, a stark contrast to countries like the UK, with an 11% penetration rate, the US, with over 6%, and Australia, with approximately 6.7%, it showed.
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This highlights India’s nascent stage in the senior living market, signaling significant room for growth compared to more mature markets where senior living is already well-established and growing steadily. The elderly care market has been establishing increasingly in India in recent years, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, the report said.
The world’s elderly population is surging, with India expected to house up to 17% of the world’s elderly population by 2050.
The senior living segment is on the rise because of the rise in nuclear families – 20% of the elderly population live alone or only with one spouse and there is an increase expected in the old-age dependency ratio which is expected to rise from 16% in 2020 to 34% by 2050.
This trend is driven by several factors, including higher affordability levels and a growing acceptance of nuclear family structures, as evidenced by a higher proportion of elderly living alone compared to the northern states.
Additionally, the southern states boast prominent healthcare facilities, facilitating access to tertiary healthcare and fostering awareness of geriatric care services. Also, the availability of trained staff, given the region’s focus on the healthcare sector, further enhances the quality of senior care.
The total estimated target for senior living facilities in 2024 is around 1 million, projected to increase to 2.5 million in the next 10 years. Currently, there are approximately 150 million elderly individuals in India, a number expected to rise to 230 million over the next 10- 12 years.