# Microdata for Research on Aging in the Global South

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2024 · $635,477

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
The extraordinarily rapid aging of the developing world represents one of the most significant demographic
transformations in history, with profound consequences for disease and disability, intergenerational relations,
work and retirement, geographic mobility, and other economic and demographic processes. The United Nations
projects that the population aged 60 and older will grow by over 50% over the next 15 years. Most of the growth
of the older population will take place in the Global South, which will include 80% of the older population by 2050.
The growth of the older population in Latin America, Africa, and South Asia is occurring far more rapidly than it
did in the developed countries of Europe and North America. Despite its manifest significance, population aging
in the Global South is understudied, partly because of a dearth of suitable data. To grapple with processes of
population aging across the Global South over multiple decades, researchers must have access to big microdata.
Over the past two decades, the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) has created a vast database
of census and survey microdata covering most of the globe from the 1960s to the present. These data include
detailed information about each person's geographic location, demographic characteristics, and economic
activities. The data also cover education and literacy, fertility history, migration and place of former residence,
marital status and consensual unions, disabilities, water supply, sewage, housing features (e.g., floor and roof
material), and a host of other characteristics. This competing continuation proposal requests funding to expand
and adapt the world’s most comprehensive collection of census microdata to meet the needs of research on
aging in the Global South. We have four specific aims: (1) Data acquisition and long-run preservation. We will
obtain and preserve census and survey microdata from the Global South, including the newest microdata from
household surveys and older data at risk of destruction. (2) Data processing. We plan to expand the IPUMS
database by adding data for approximately 100 million individuals included in 40 censuses and surveys, focusing
on recent data from Africa and Latin America. This expansion will require data cleaning, development of
comprehensive machine-processable metadata, spatial data ingest and harmonization, and variable
harmonization. (3) Innovations in data, metadata, and technical infrastructure. We will make major improvements
to IPUMS data and metadata while adding new capabilities to IPUMS data processing and dissemination
systems. (4) Dissemination and outreach. We will provide user support, training, and outreach and will develop
new online training capabilities. We will harness the expertise of the user community and promote collaboration
and scientific discovery through surveys of users, workshops, and online interaction. Most critically, we will
maintain our network of co...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10980212
- **Project number:** 2R01AG062601-06
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
- **Principal Investigator:** Lara L Cleveland
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $635,477
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2019-08-01 → 2029-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10980212

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10980212, Microdata for Research on Aging in the Global South (2R01AG062601-06). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10980212. Licensed CC0.

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