World Bank: East Asia Pacific aging fastest

The East Asia Pacific region is aging at a faster rate than any other place in history, the World Bank warned on Wednesday, a demographic shift likely to cramp public services and economic growth.

The region, which spans from Myanmar and China's western borders as far east as Japan, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific islands, is now home to a third of the world's over 65s - about 211 million people.

That lurch toward older populations will have a significant impact on economic growth in a area of the globe that has been financially booming for much of the last two decades, according to the study.