STAT/06/129
29 September 2006
International Day of Older Persons EU25 population aged 65 and over expected to double between 1995 and 2050
The International Day of Older Persons1, organised by the United Nations, will take place, as every year, on 1 October. In conjunction with this event, Eurostat is publishing statistics on the population aged over 65, which highlight some of their demographic, economic and social particularities compared to the total population.
Three persons in ten will be aged 65 and over in 2050
The share of persons aged 65 and over was 17% of the total population in the EU25 in 2005, compared to 15% in 1995. The Member States with the highest proportions in 2005 were Germany and Italy (both 19%) and Greece (18%), while the lowest were Ireland (11%), Cyprus and Slovakia (both 12%).
Projections2 for 2050 indicate that, in the EU25, the number of persons aged 65 and over might rise from 75 million in 2005 to nearly 135 million in 2050 (1995: 66 million). Their share in the total population is projected to increase to around 30% at the EU25 level, with the highest shares in Spain (36%), Italy (35%), Germany, Greece and Portugal (all 32%) and the lowest in Luxembourg (22%), the Netherlands (23%), Denmark and Sweden (both 24%).
10 years of healthy life after 65 for both men and women
Men were expected to live 10.1 years of healthy life without disabilities after the age of 65 in the EU15 in 2003; for women it was 10.7 years. In the Member States for which data are available, men in Cyprus (12.6 years) were expected to have most years of healthy life after 65 in 2003, followed by Italy (11.9 years), Belgium (11.7 years) and Spain (11.3 years). For women, Italy (14.4 years), followed by Belgium (12.6 years), Spain (12.5 years) and Austria (12.2 years) recorded most years of healthy life after 65.
The least years of healthy life after 65 for men were expected in Hungary (6.1 years), Finland (6.5 years), France and the United Kingdom (both 8.2 years) and for women in Finland (7.1 years), Hungary (7.2 years) and Portugal (7.7 years).
8% of 65-69 year olds in employment in the EU25 in 2005
Compared to an employment rate for persons aged 15 to 64 of 63.8% in the EU25 in 2005, the employment rate for persons aged 60 to 643 was 26.7% and for 65-69 year olds it was 8.2%. For the age group 60-64, the highest employment rates were recorded in Sweden (56.8%), Estonia (43.9%), Ireland (42.9%), the United Kingdom (42.0%) and Portugal (41.3%). For the age group 65-69, the highest employment rates were found in Portugal (28.4%), Cyprus (19.8%) and Latvia (18.7%).
The lowest employment rates for persons aged 60-64 were observed in Luxembourg (12.6%), Slovakia (12.7%) and France (13.0%). For the age group 65-69, the lowest rates were found in Slovakia (2.4%), Belgium (2.5%) and France (3.0%).
Population, expected healthy life years and employment
% of total population aged 65 and over Expected healthy life years at 65, 2003* Employment rates**, 2005, % 1995 2005 Projection 2050 Men Women 60-64 years 65-69 years EU25 15 17 30 : : 26.7 8.2 EU15 15 17 30 10.1 10.7 27.8 8.1 Belgium 16 17 28 11.7 12.6 17.0 2.5 Czech Republic 13 14 31 9.5 10.0 22.3 7.9 Denmark 15 15 24 8.4 9.9 36.7 14.4 Germany 15 19 32 10.8 9.2 27.8 6.3 Estonia 13 16 26 : : 43.9 (18.3) Greece 15 18 32 9.9 10.5 30.8 9.4 Spain 15 17 36 11.3 12.5 31.8 4.4 France 15 16 27 8.2 8.9 13.0 3.0 Ireland 11 11 26 10.1 10.4 42.9 15.3 Italy 16 19 35 11.9 14.4 18.1 7.2 Cyprus 11 12 26 12.6 11.5 37.9 19.8 Latvia 13 17 26 : : 31.9 18.7 Lithuania 12 15 27 : : 36.9 (7.6) Luxembourg 14 14 22 : : (12.6) u Hungary 14 16 28 6.1 7.2 15.0 3.6 Malta 11 13 25 9.9 10.3 (15.5) u Netherlands 13 14 23 9.2 9.5 25.0 10.3 Austria 15 16 30 10.2 12.2 13.7 5.2 Poland 11 13 29 9.2 11.4 18.3 10.2 Portugal 15 17 32 8.4 7.7 41.3 28.4 Slovenia 12 15 31 : : (15.5) (11.1) Slovakia 11 12 29 : : 12.7 (2.4) Finland 14 16 27 6.5 7.1 33.9 5.8 Sweden 17 17 24 8.9 10.4 56.8 14.6 United Kingdom 16 16 27 8.2 9.6 42.0 14.5 *Number of years that a person at 65 is still expected to live in a healthy condition. 2002: Czech Republic, Malta, Poland
**The employment rate is calculated by dividing the number of persons in a certain age group in employment by the total population of the same age group.
()The reliability of data shown between brackets may be affected by small sample size
uData unreliable due to a too small sample size for the age category concerned
:Data not available
Between five and eight hours of free time per day
Time use surveys make it possible to measure different behaviour between age groups and sexes within a Member State. However, due to the fact that they were not conducted during the same year and there are certain differences in methodology, data are not strictly comparable between Member States.
In all Member States for which data are available, there was, as expected, more free time available per day for persons aged 65 years and over than for the population aged 20 to 74. In all Member States, men aged 65 and over had more free time than women, as also was the case for the age group 20-74. Compared to this age group, the increase in free time amongst those aged 65 and over ranged from 1¼ hour in Lithuania to 2¾ hours in Spain for men and from 1¼ hour in Germany to nearly 2½ hours in Sweden and Finland for women. This extra free time was in general mostly used for watching television and video. There was also an increase in reading for those aged 65 years and over, both for men and for women, while the time dedicated to socialising remained in general the same.
Structure of free time for women and men aged 65 and over - hours and minutes per day
Total free time TV and video Socialising Reading Other free time activities** Men Women Men Women Men Women Men Women Men Women Belgium* 07:44 06:39 03:30 03:07 00:42 00:53 00:55 00:37 02:37 02:02 Germany 07:30 06:31 02:37 02:14 00:55 01:00 01:09 00:56 02:49 02:21 Estonia 07:13 06:13 02:51 02:41 00:29 00:33 01:00 00:44 02:53 02:15 Spain 08:06 06:05 03:15 02:48 00:55 00:45 00:30 00:13 03:26 02:19 France 06:42 05:45 03:04 02:55 00:38 00:44 00:53 00:44 02:07 01:22 Italy 07:26 05:48 02:52 02:24 01:04 00:55 00:37 00:21 02:53 02:08 Latvia 06:27 05:51 02:57 02:43 00:33 00:37 00:54 00:43 02:03 01:48 Lithuania 06:03 05:06 02:48 02:33 00:36 00:36 00:36 00:29 02:03 01:28 Hungary* 07:25 06:39 03:44 03:38 00:45 00:47 00:48 00:30 02:08 01:44 Poland 06:58 06:09 03:22 02:39 00:49 00:52 00:37 00:30 02:10 02:08 Slovenia 07:36 06:05 02:42 02:21 00:54 00:53 00:55 00:33 03:05 02:18 Finland 08:13 07:36 03:10 02:55 00:43 00:57 01:13 01:13 03:07 02:31 Sweden* 07:48 07:20 02:56 02:35 00:51 01:06 01:15 01:07 02:46 02:32 United Kingdom 07:30 06:55 03:30 03:05 00:51 01:02 01:05 00:53 02:04 01:55 Structure of free time for women and men aged 20 to 74 - hours and minutes per day
Total free time TV and video Socialising Reading Other free time activities** Men Women Men Women Men Women Men Women Men Women Belgium 05:22 04:50 02:23 02:09 00:42 00:50 00:31 00:26 01:46 01:25 Germany 05:46 05:19 01:59 01:41 01:03 01:09 00:37 00:38 02:07 01:51 Estonia 05:28 04:35 02:39 02:11 00:36 00:37 00:39 00:38 01:34 01:09 Spain 05:16 04:26 02:00 01:46 00:57 00:49 00:17 00:12 02:02 01:39 France 04:44 04:06 02:08 01:55 00:43 00:44 00:23 00:23 01:30 01:04 Italy 05:05 04:05 01:52 01:29 00:59 00:49 00:21 00:16 01:53 01:31 Latvia 04:45 04:07 02:18 01:55 00:34 00:35 00:26 00:29 01:27 01:08 Lithuania 04:47 03:45 02:36 01:59 00:33 00:32 00:23 00:23 01:15 00:51 Hungary 05:29 04:38 02:49 02:37 00:49 00:40 00:27 00:22 01:24 00:59 Poland 05:21 04:31 02:34 02:03 00:50 00:49 00:21 00:25 01:36 01:14 Slovenia 05:32 04:27 02:12 01:44 00:59 00:57 00:23 00:23 01:58 01:23 Finland 05:55 05:16 02:25 02:02 00:50 00:54 00:44 00:47 01:56 01:33 Sweden 05:17 04:57 01:58 01:40 00:57 01:07 00:30 00:35 01:52 01:35 United Kingdom 05:20 04:53 02:37 02:09 00:50 01:00 00:26 00:25 01:27 01:19 The data are taken from national Time Use Surveys conducted between 1998 and 2004 by national statistical institutes and research institutes and are not fully comparable between Member States. The average time spent on various activities is calculated across the whole year including working days and weekends, as well as holiday periods.
*Belgium: age group 65-95, Hungary and Sweden: age group 65-84
**Other free time activities include: sports, resting, entertainment and culture, arts, computer and video games, other computing, hobbies and games, volunteer work and help, other or unspecified leisure.
12% of 65-74 year olds used the internet in the EU25 in 2005
In the EU25 in 2005, 51% of the total population had used the internet in the previous 3 months, while in the age group 65-74, 12% did so. The Member States where the highest proportion of the age group 65-74 used the internet were the Netherlands (34%), Denmark (30%), Sweden (27%) and Luxembourg (26%), while the lowest shares were recorded in Greece and Slovakia (both 1%), the Czech Republic, Lithuania and Portugal (all 2%).
Internet use
% of persons having used Internet in the last 3 months, 2005 Total 65-74 years EU25 51 12 Belgium 58 12 Czech Republic 32 2 Denmark 77 30 Germany 65 20 Estonia 59 10 Greece 22 1 Spain 44 4 France : : Ireland 37 8 Italy 34 4 Cyprus 31 4 Latvia 42 4 Lithuania 34 2 Luxembourg 69 26 Hungary 37 5 Malta : : Netherlands 79 34 Austria 55 8 Poland 35 3 Portugal 32 2 Slovenia 47 u Slovakia 50 1 Finland 73 18 Sweden 81 27 United Kingdom 66 25 uData not reliable due to small sample size
:Data not available
Please see: http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/ageing/index.html The Eurostat set of population projections is just one among several scenarios of population evolution based on assumptions of fertility, mortality and migration. The current trend scenario does not take into account any future measures that could influence demographic trends. Next to the ‘baseline’ variant which is presented in this News Release, the trend scenario comprises other variants. All variants are available on the Eurostat website. It should be noted that the assumptions adopted by Eurostat may differ from those adopted by National Statistical Institutes (for example, assumptions about migration levels in Italy and Slovenia). Therefore, the results published by Eurostat can be different from those published by Member States. For further information, please see the forthcoming publication of Eurostat: Statistics in focus, Population and social conditions 2006: The employment of seniors in the European Union, which will be available shortly. Issued by: Eurostat Press Office Tim ALLEN BECH Building L-2920 LUXEMBOURG Tel: +352-4301-33 444 Fax: +352-4301-35 349 eurostat-pressoffice@ec.europa.euEurostat news releases on the Internet: http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/ 
