Spanish will be the oldest in Europe by 2050

8 April 2005

BRUSSELS-The Spanish population will be the oldest in the EU by 2050, a survey has predicted.

More than 35 percent of Spaniards will be over 65 years old.

Spain will also have the lowest proportion of its population of working age, according to the Eurostat survey.

The number of people aged over 80 will be one of the highest in Europe, with 12.8 percent in this age bracket.

The only countries with a higher number of over 80s, will be Italy (14.1 percent) and Germany (13.6 percent).

Michail Skaliotis, of Eurostat, said the rise in the proportion of the population pensionable age in southern European countries, like Spain, will not be matched by a big enough working population.

Spain´s population should reach 45.5 million by 2025.

But it should start to fall from 2022 and by the year 2050 will number 42.8m.

So, over the next 46 years, there will only be an overall rise of 1.2 percent or 489,000 people.

Skaliotis warned this would make the pensions system unworkable.

By 2050 in Spain, only 52.9 percent of the population will be of the working age.

Skaliotis said this will put extra pressure on the pension system in countries, like Spain, in southern Europe.

[Copyright EFE with Expatica]

Subject: Spanish news