Old is Gold: Over 20% of the population of these countries is aged above 65

• 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.
  

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

The demographic changes are different in different countries as the set of factors that influence them vary between nations. Studies show that the pace of population aging happens much faster today than in the past.

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.

Germany is the most populated country in the European Union with a population of 84,270, 625 in 2022.

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.

France reserves the third spot with more percentage of older people

In France, the size of the older population aged over 65 years is 22 percent. Historically, France had been the most populous country in Europe.

Countries with impressive percentages of older population

Next in the list of countries with a larger percentage of the elderly are Czechia, Denmark, and Estonia which all share the same value of 21% of their population aged over 65 years. The fourth member credited with the same figures is China, Hong Kong special administrative region. The last country in this list is Canada that has 20% of its population aged over five years.