Ageing – Elder people in the European Community

Have a little read: ... Geography Assignment Ageing - Elder people in the European Community Introduction Old age has been described to be one of the largest problems facing modern day society. Improved healthcare, education and lifestyle have all been significant factors in this seeming surge of people who are living to the age of 60+ and far beyond. As can be seen, this influx of older people are having a dramatic effect on the way countries are organising their economic structures, or in most cases they way they are not. When considering the aspects of older people in the community, the term 'old age' must be understood, although presently it cannot be seen that there is a definitive term that can describe it. It could be said that old age is very much a state of mind rather than a set number of years designated by a particular government or organisation. "You are only as old as you feel" would be an excellent phrase to describe this, with most people who according to social rule have been designated as old, do not feel particularly old. Although retirement age is generally seen as the entry point into old age, this differs from country to country, so again this cannot be definitive. For this document, the exact entry point to old age is insignificant, what is important to reaslise is that the numbers of old people are increasing, and they are doing so at an alarming rate. What regions of the world is experiencing increase in old age? Old age or ageing is a recurring problem that is starting to become evident in countries not just confined to the developed countries of Europe, but to countries over the whole world. Massive changes are happening to population structures that are showing huge increases in old age in most developed countries, but even larger ones are being seen in the undeveloped countries. This is a process that has been occurring most prolifically in the last 30 or so years but has been happening for over 100 years in some countries such as the UK, with different countries at different stages in their increasing old aged population. Notably, It can be seen that many of the EC countries are experiencing growth in percentages of old age in both absolute and the proportionate numbers of older people. This means that the percentage of older people is increasing when in direct comparison with younger age groups and also the actual quantities of older people are increasing in these countries. In the European Community alone, it was estimated that there were about 64 million people aged 60 and over representing about a fifth of the total population. By 2020, this figure is expected to rise very sharply so that one quarter of the E.C.'s population will be 60+ within the next two decades. Although as pointed out, this reference to an increase in old age varies, and there is no uniformed definition of when old age begins, so very accurate comparisons between countries are made difficult due to this fact. In the EC, and can be seen in general that most countries in the North and the West excluding Ireland have the oldest populations. This would include well known developed countries such as the United Kingdom, France and Germany. The younger populations in Europe can be seen towards the South in countries such as Spain and Italy. Younger populations can also be seen in the East in former communist countries such as Yugoslavia. This being said, all members of the EC are expecting huge increases in the percentages of older people. Germany predicts that its population will soon be one of the oldest