The demographic ageing of societies represents one of the major challenges for the 21st century. As fertility has fallen, longevity has increased, with older people living longer and healthier old ages. The experience and meaning of old age is being transformed. However, in Latin America the context for this is very different from other world regions. Population ageing is taking place much more rapidly than it has done in Europe and North America for example, and against a background of limited health care and social protection. Both collaborative research and data collection are now needed to better understand the implications.