Archive:Population statistics introduced
- Data from September 2008, most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.
Three factors are at the heart of Europe’s ageing society: persistently low fertility rates, high life expectancy, and baby-boom generations that reach higher ages. Together with other factors, such as unemployment and changes in the span of the average working life, the age structure of the population impacts on the numerical balance of the population aged 65 years and over and the population aged between 15 and 64 years old, the latter conventionally considered as the working age population. Future demographic trends are likely to see a continuous increase in the proportion of the EU’s population that is aged above the age of 65.
It is likely that the EU will, in the coming decades, face a number of significant challenges, which will need to be taken into account within a variety of different policy areas. In order to address these challenges, the European Commission released a Green Paper in March 2005 (COM(2005) 94) entitled ’Confronting demographic change: a new solidarity between the generations’ , in which it was recognised that young adults are increasingly living with their parents for longer, while parents often have to support dependent elderly people. In a Communication from October 2006 on the demographic future of Europe COM(2006) 571, the Commission emphasised the need for the Member States to promote demographic renewal, linking action to the renewed Lisbon strategy and gender equality policy. These ideas were elaborated in a Communication of May 2007 COM(2007) 244 final on promoting solidarity between the generations.