I would say that the elderly are an indicator for society in general and the economy in particular. You can not even go into the details of the type of GDP and place in some rating. Just look at pensions.
The elderly in the country live normally - in the country everyone lives normally. This is a normal country. The elderly are living badly - something in the economy is not the case, since the country cannot or does not want to provide a person who has brought money to this country all his life, a decent old age. This is a fucking country. All is simple.

A normal person can fool what his country has GDP indicators or in what place the economy according to renowned analysts or how much his country in the world is afraid and what kind of army it has, if he knows that in old age he will be put on a whore (he is already in the past). It will soon die and all. And if it is not a fool and there is a possibility, then he will try to leave for a young country with a smaller scope, but where he will know that having worked all his life for this country, he will not need old age.