The whole of Europe is going grey, but in Europe’s Ageing Demography, we show that Eastern Europe will be hit the hardest by the brewing demographic storm.

While it is currently the Northern and Western European countries which have the oldest populations, by 2060 many of the countries in the East will have the highest proportions over the age of 65.
A shrinking working age population combined with a growing cohort of retirees means that by 2060 it is projected that many Eastern countries will have less than 2 working age adults per dependent. The problem is expected to be particularly bad in Slovakia and Poland, where there will be just 1.5 and 1.7 working age adults per dependent. This trend has huge implications for the Eastern economies and will place enormous strains on their government’s finances.

Europe’s ageing has profound implications for individuals, governments and businesses across Europe, all of whom must adapt to a new world where it is projected that almost 1 in 3 people will be over 65, and more than 1 in 10 will be over the age of 80.

Europe’s Ageing Demography, supported by the specialist insurer Partnership, is an accessible factpack of statistics which illustrates both the reality of what it means to be old in Europe today, and the demographic changes Europe will experience over the next half century.