A recent Eurostat calculation shows that Albania has the lowest dependency ratio of the elderly (population ratio 65+ to 15-64) in Europe, indicating that the country still has a young population. But the aging process in our country is happening at a much faster pace than in the EU. 

The proportion of older people in the EU has risen sharply in the last 20 years. In 2001, the dependency of the elderly was 25.9%, which means that there were slightly less than four working-age adults (20-64) for every person aged 65 and over. By 2020, the ratio increased to 34.8%, meaning there were slightly less than three working-age adults for every person age 65 or older. 

In Albania, the ratio of elderly addicts in 2000 was 11.9%, while in 2021 it reached 22.3%. In Albania, the indicator for 20 years expanded by 10.4 percentage points (pp) while in the EU by 8.9 pp. 

In the EU the highest rates of elderly addiction were in East Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal and Finland. Most of these regions were mostly rural, mountainous, or relatively remote, with young people leaving the region to continue their studies or look for work in urban areas. 

Evrytania, a mountainous region in central Greece, recorded the highest rate of dependence on the elderly (78.3%). This region was followed by the northwestern Belgian region of Arr. Veurne (64.6%) and the German region of Suhl, Kreisfreie Stadt (61.3%). 

In contrast, the lowest dependency ratios in the EU were recorded in the French region of Mayotte (6.1%) and Guyana (11.7%) and the Spanish region of Fuerteventura (16.5%). 

Over the next three decades, old-age dependency ratios are projected to increase in all 1,169 EU regions, with the exception of Harz, the westernmost region of Saxony-Anhalt in Germany. 

The proportion of older people in the EU is projected to reach 56.7% by 1 January 2050, which means that there will be fewer than two working-age adults for each older person. Forecasts indicate that the aging dependency ratio will have risen to at least 50% in the vast majority (974) of EU regions. 

According to internal projections in 2031, Albania will have 35 elderly people per 100 people. According to internal projections, in 2031, the district with the highest dependency ratio of the elderly will be Gjirokastra with 45 elderly for every 100 people aged 15 to 64 years. The district with the lowest dependency ratio of the elderly will be Tirana with 30 percent, due to the movement of the working-age population (15-64) towards the economic and educational centers of Albania.

(Source: Monitor)