EUROPE: EU population aging, says report

BRUSSELS (United Press International), August 28, 2008: About a third of people in the European Union will likely be aged 65 or older by 2060, a Eurostat survey indicates. The EU Observer reported Thursday that Poland will have the largest percentage of elderly people. Researchers expect that in the next 50 years Poland will have at least 36 percent of its population over age 65. By 2060, the average percent of seniors will climb from 17 percent currently to 30 percent, the survey published Tuesday shows. "There would be only two people of working age for every person aged 65 or more in 2060, compared with four persons to one today," the survey found. The survey also found that by 2015, the number of deaths will exceed the number of births in the European Union. The European Commission has expressed concern about the affect of an aging population on the bloc's economy. "We are concerned with finding out whether our member states will be able to pay for the costs linked to aging, and whether future generations will not be overburdened," EU Commission spokeswoman Amelia Torres said. © 2008 United Press International, Inc.