EU has second highest old age dependency ratio among G20 members: Eurostat

The European Union (EU) has the second highest old age dependency ratio among G20 members, according to the press release of Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, on Thursday.

Old age dependency, measured as the ratio of the number of older persons (aged 65 and over) to the number of persons of working age (from 15 to 64), was by far the highest in 2013 in Japan at 40.5 percent, followed by the EU at 27.5 percent, Canada at 22.2 percent, Australia at 21.5 percent and the United States at 21.0 percent.

By 2060, the old age dependency ratio is expected to rise drastically in every G-20 member.

With an old age dependency ratio expected to be over 70 percent, South Korea and Japan would have by 2060 a population structure where there would be 7 older persons for every 10 persons of working age.

Moreover, in the EU, the old age dependency ratio is expected to almost double by 2060, from 27.5 percent in 2013 to 50.2 percent, said Eurostat.

In 2012, the EU had a life expectancy at birth reaching 80 years. Japan (84 years), Australia (83 years), Canada (82 years) and South Korea (81 years) had the highest life expectancies among the non-EU G-20 members, while South Africa (59 years), India (66 years), Russia (69 years) and Indonesia (71 years) the lowest.

With 506 million inhabitants in 2013, the EU accounted for just over 7 percent of the world population (7.1 billion inhabitants). China and India were more populous, while the United States, Indonesia and Brazil accounted for a lower share of the world population than the EU, said Eurostat. Endit