Old is Gold: Over 20% of the population of these countries is aged above 65
Apr 23, 2023, 11:00 IST
- Over 10% of the population of 10 countries in 2023 is aged more than 65 according to a UNFPA report.
- UNFPA reports contain some valuable insights on population including age-wise distribution of population.
- Rise of average life expectancy around the world seems to have influenced some populations with a higher percentage of older adults.
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As of 2023, ten countries have more than 20 percent of the older population above 65 years of age, as per a UNFPA report. The factors that contributed to the rise in the older population include improvement in public health, increase of average life expectancy, and increase in the level of equality and quality of life in many societies.Countries with more than 20% of their population aged above 65
% of population aged over 65 | Countries |
24% | Finland |
23% | Germany, Greece and Croatia |
22% | France |
21% | Czechia, Denmark, and Estonia |
Population studies around the globe note that in 2020, the percentage of people aged over 60 years and more was higher than the percentage of children below 5 years. The present trend indicates that between 2015 and 2050, the segment of the global human population over 60 years is most likely to increase from 12% to 22%.
Finland has the highest percentage of older adults in the world
Finland has a population of around 5.6 million. As per the UNFPA Report, this country has the highest percentage of the elderly estimated at 24 percent. Some studies also show that over half of the voters in Finland are over 50 years of age.Germany, Greece and Croatia share the second highest percentage of older adults
In the second place, Germany, Greece and Croatia share the same value of 23% referring to the size of their older population when compared to their overall population.Advertisement
As per the UN’s statistics, Greece had a population of 10,445,365 in 2021. Over the recent past, Greece’s population showed a rapid increase in the number of elderly people.
Croatia’s population had reached 3.87 million. Right from 1991, the country’s death rate has consistently exceeded its birth rate and the natural growth rate of the population has been negative.