EU countries by share of population aged 65 and over

Name: EU countries by share of population aged 65 and over, 2017
Creator: Eurostat, European Commission
License: Eurostat reuse policy (commercial and non-commercial reuse, attribution required)

Italy had the highest share of population aged 65 and over of 26 EU countries in 2017, at 22.4%. Ireland had the lowest, at 13.5%. The median was 19%. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest22.4Italy

Lowest13.5Ireland

Median1926 EU countries

All EU countries, 2017

CSV Chart (SVG)

%. Source: Eurostat. Retrieved 2026-10-07.

Full ranking

Rank	EU countries	2017 (%)	Change on 2016
1	Italy	22.4	+0.3 pts
2	Bulgaria	21.6	+0.5 pts
3	Greece	21.4	+0.3 pts
4	Portugal	21.3	+0.4 pts
5	Germany	21.2	+0.1 pts
6	Finland	20.9	+0.4 pts
7	Croatia	19.9	+0.5 pts
7	Latvia	19.9	+0.3 pts
9	Sweden	19.8	0 pts
10	Estonia	19.3	+0.3 pts
10	France	19.3	+0.4 pts
12	Denmark	19.1	+0.3 pts
12	Lithuania	19.1	+0.3 pts
14	Slovenia	18.9	+0.5 pts
14	Spain	18.9	+0.2 pts
16	Czechia	18.8	+0.5 pts
17	Hungary	18.6	+0.4 pts
17	Malta	18.6	+0.3 pts
19	Austria	18.5	+0.1 pts
19	Belgium	18.5	+0.3 pts
21	Romania	17.8	+0.4 pts
22	Poland	16.5	+0.5 pts
23	Cyprus	15.4	+0.4 pts
24	Slovakia	15	+0.6 pts
25	Luxembourg	14.2	0 pts
26	Ireland	13.5	+0.3 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Residents aged 65 or over as a percentage of total population. Spain: 1 January, INE annual census. United States: 1 July, Census Bureau population estimates. World Bank figures for other countries and the World refer to mid-year.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. 1 EU countries with data in other periods have no value for 2017 and are left out rather than filled from another source. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Population structure indicators by NUTS 3 region (demo_r_pjanind3). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_r_pjanind3/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-07.

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Rank EU countries by share of population aged 65 and over using official data, and cite the source.

rank_places {"indicator":"population_65_plus_share","level":"country","within":"European Union (27)","limit":10}
GET https://invokely.ai/api/v1/rank?indicator=population_65_plus_share&level=country&within=European%20Union%20(27)&limit=10

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Questions

Which EU country has the highest share of population aged 65 and over?

Italy, with 22.4% in 2017, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest share of population aged 65 and over?

Ireland, with 13.5% in 2017.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Population structure indicators by NUTS 3 region (demo_r_pjanind3). Retrieved 2026-10-07. 1 EU countries have no value for 2017 and are not ranked.