The European Statistical Office Eurostat announced that on January 1 last year, the average age of the EU population reached 44.4 years, which is 0.3 years more than in 2021.
The same source also reported that the average age of the EU population increased by 2.5 years from 41.9 years in 2012. At the same time, these data show that half of the EU population was older than 44.4 years, and the other half was younger, according to SchengenVisaInfo.com.
“Across EU countries, the median age ranged from 38.3 in Cyprus, 38.8 in Ireland, and 39.7 in Luxembourg to 48.0 in Italy, 46.8 in Portugal, and 46.1 in Greece. A total of 18 EU countries were below the EU average age,” the report says.
According to Eurostat, during 2012-2022, this indicator increased in all EU members, except Sweden, where in 2021 it decreased from 40.8 years to 40.7 years last year.
Between 2012 and 2022, the average age in Malta remained unchanged at 40.4 years.
On the other hand, in five EU countries, the average age of the population increased by four years or more.
Among EU countries, the average age increased the most in Portugal (+4.7 years), followed by Spain (+4.3), Greece and Slovakia (+4.1), and Italy (+4.0).
Eurostat data also shows that between 2021 and 2022 the median age increased in 24 EU countries, while it fell by -0.1 years in Germany and remained the same in Austria and the Netherlands.
During the same period, the largest increase in average age was observed in Greece – +0.6 years and the Czech Republic – by +0.5.
Last year, there was an increase in the number of elderly people aged 65 and over compared to those working aged 15-64.
In 2022, the elderly dependency ratio in the EU was 33 percent, 0.5 percentage points (pp) higher than in 2021. Since 2012, when this indicator was 27.1 percent, it has increased by 5.9 percentage points.
In addition, this figure varied between EU members but remained above 20 percent in all countries.
In this respect, the highest figures were recorded in Italy at 37.5 percent, Finland at 37.4 percent and Portugal at 37.2 percent, and the lowest at Luxembourg at 21.3 percent, Ireland at 23.1 percent, and Cyprus at 24.5 percent. interest.
In addition, compared to a decade ago, the following countries saw the most significant increase in the number of reports:
- Finland (+9.7 pp),
- Poland (+9.6 points)
- Czech Republic (+9.2 points)
At the same time, the lowest indicators were recorded in Luxembourg (+1.0 pp), Austria (+3.1 pp), and Germany (+3.3 pp).