Europe is facing a demographic challenge as the number of retirees rises while the working-age population declines.
Southern European nations are most affected, but the trend is spreading across the European Union, prompting governments to adjust pension systems and raise retirement ages to ensure financial sustainability.
According to Jakub Vachuška from the Czech Statistical Office, Italy recorded the oldest population in the latest census, with an average age of 46.2 years. Using data from the European Census Hub database, Vachuška noted that Italians are, on average, 2.7 years older than the EU average and 7.6 years older than Icelanders, whose average age is 38.6 years.
Several other countries also show aging populations. Southern European nations such as Portugal, Greece, and Croatia rank among the oldest, alongside Germany and Lithuania.
The share of residents over 65 is highest in Italy, where nearly one in four citizens falls into this category. Other countries with large senior populations include Portugal, Greece, Croatia, Bulgaria, Finland, and Germany. In the Czech Republic, 20.4 percent of residents are over 65.
Aging also affects self-sufficiency, particularly among people over 80. Italy reports the highest share of people with reduced self-sufficiency at 7.6 percent, while the Czech Republic records 4.2 percent, the eighth lowest in Europe.
Half of Europeans Are Over 44
Eurostat highlights the increasing median age across the EU, a measure that divides the population into two equal halves. Last year, the median age in the European Union reached 44.7 years, ranging from 39.4 years in Ireland to 48.7 years in Italy. Over the past decade, the median age of Europeans has increased by 2.2 years.
“The aging trend is visible across nearly all EU countries, with the sharpest increases in Greece, Italy, Portugal, and Slovakia, where the median age rose by four years,” Eurostat reports. The only exceptions were Malta, with a slight decrease of 0.7 years, and Germany, with a minor drop of 0.1 years. In the Czech Republic, the median age now stands at 44 years, having risen by over three years in the past decade.
Pensions Under Pressure
Demographic shifts are reshaping pension systems across Europe. In the Czech Republic, the state pension system relies on continuous contributions from current workers to pay retirees. As the number of contributors falls and pensioners rise, pensions increasingly rely on other state funds.
Countries are responding by raising retirement ages. The Czech Republic plans a gradual increase to 67 years. Denmark is set to raise the retirement age to 70 by 2040. Currently, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland already have retirement ages at 67, while the Netherlands, the UK, and Ireland have later retirement thresholds compared with Czechs.
