Press Release 01/10/2021
For every 10 people aged 65 and over, there were 8 under-20s in the Basque Country, indicating a progressively ageing population
Older people rated their level of life satisfaction and leisure time satisfaction as good
As part of the International Day of Older Persons celebrated today, 1 October, Eustat is publishing the “Statistical overview of older persons 2021”. It is divided into five thematic areas: Demographics, Economic life, Health, Daily life and Social protection.
Demographics: The figures as of 01/01/2020 show that 494,364 (22.5%) people aged 65 and over lived in the Basque Country, of whom 284,126 (57.5%) were women and 210,238 (42.5%) were men. By province, Bizkaia was the oldest and Araba the youngest province.
Generational change: The current ratio between under-20s and those aged 65 and over in the Basque Country is 0.8, indicating a progressively ageing population. This imbalance was more pronounced among women and can be explained by a longer life expectancy and the larger population of women than men.
Economic life: Gender inequality in average personal income increased after retirement age and was attenuated by the later aggregation of widows’ pensions
Personal and family income: The population aged 18 and over in the Basque Country had an average personal income of €21,458 in 2018. Men obtained an average income of €26,930 compared to the €16,416 obtained by women. The greatest difference was recorded in the 65 to 69 age group, in which the average income of men exceeded that of women by €15,380.
Income among people aged 65 and over primarily came from retirement pensions and other social benefits. To a much lesser extent, it came from capital gains and income from economic activity or work was practically non-existent.
The average personal income of men aged 65 and over decreased progressively with age. The older they were, the less income they had. However, there was a slight increase in the average income for women aged 80 and over as a result of widows’ pensions.
Gender inequality in average personal income increased after retirement age, despite being attenuated by the later aggregation of widows’ pensions. The gender gap was smaller among the under-40s.
Health: The older the person, the poorer their health is perceived to be
The perception of good health indicates that the older the person, the poorer their health is perceived to be. By gender, the perception of good health among women was 10 points lower than among men.
35.8% of women aged 75 and over and 26.1% of men in the same age group suffered chronic limitations on activity.
Hospitals in the Basque Country registered 247,502 admissions in 2019; 51% of people hospitalised were aged 65 and over.
Mortality: In 2020, 24,247 Basque Country residents died: 12,056 men and 12,191 women. The average age at death among men was 77.8, while the average age among women stood at 84.2. 3,096 people died due to COVID-19 in 2020, 12.8% of the total. The number of men who died as a result of COVID-19 was higher than that of women: 1,582 men compared to 1,514 women. In terms of age, 72.8% of deaths caused by COVID-19 corresponded to people over 80 years old.
Daily life: Older people were the most satisfied with their leisure time
Personal and social life: The population aged 65 and over scored an average of 7.53 out of 10 on life satisfaction and 7.76 on leisure time satisfaction in 2020. By contrast, those aged 35 to 49 gave the lowest score (6.09).
Tourism: Older people were also involved in the tourism phenomenon in the Basque Country (30.1%). As regards the time of year, 20.5% of tourists in the Basque Country during Easter were people aged 60 and over; during summer this percentage stood at 28.8%.
Social protection: There were more women in residential homes at an older age
Over 25 years (1994 to 2019), the number of residential homes for the elderly has grown threefold, going from 153 to 448 centres in the Basque Country, 158 publicly owned and 290 private. With regard to day centres, the figure rose by 45%, with 514 centres. 18,885 older people used residential homes in 2019; seven out of every ten were women.
Guaranteed basic income benefits: 51,315 people received basic income in 2019, 10,841 of whom were aged 65 and over, 21% of the total; seven out of every ten were women.
For further information:
Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tel.: 945 01 75 62