Press Release 29/09/2023
Between 1976 and 2022 the population aged 85 and over rose from 0.4% to 4.1% of the total population of the Basque Country
280,000 people in the Basque Country live in single-person households and 44.3% are over the age of 64
If we analyse the population pyramids from 1976 and 2022, we can see that the population aged 85 and over rose in relative terms from a value of 0.4% in 1976 to one of 4.1% in 2022, according to Eustat data prepared in order to commemorate the International Day of Older Persons celebrated on Sunday 1 October.
We enjoy a better quality of life than our ancestors and becoming long-living societies is a demographic milestone in developed countries. The Basque population pyramid, which is quite elongated and has lost its characteristic triangular shape over time, indicates a steady increase in life expectancy. It is notable that the survival rates of successive generations are increasingly positive. In fact, in 2022 there were more than 1,400 centenarians, of whom 86.2% were women.
The population pyramid shows at a glance the distribution by ages of men and women. We can compare the Basque population pyramids in 1976 and 2022.
1976: Graph in the shape of a pyramid. The population aged 65 (year of birth 1910) and over represented 8.3% of the total population (171,161 inhabitants), there are 6 women for every 4 men in this age group.
2022: Graph in the shape of a guitar. The population aged 65 (year of birth 1956) and over represented 23.2% of the total population (506,596 inhabitants).
The population of the Basque Country aged 65 and over on 1 July 2022 now stands at 514,104 people, 23.5% of the total
The population of the Basque country aged 65 and over on 1 July 2022 now stands at 514,104 people (23.5%), according to Eustat data, of whom 294,287 (57.2%) are women and 219,817 (42.8%) men. This group represents 22.1% of the population in Álava, 23.3% in Gipuzkoa and 23.9% in Bizkaia.
Disaggregating the group of older people into 3 smaller age groups, namely: 65-74, 75-84 and 85 and over; what you first notice about the graph is the population aged 85 and over, which rises in relative terms from a value of 0.4% in 1976 to stand at 4.1% in 2022. There is also quite significant growth in the population aged 75-84 (from 2.3% in 1976 to 7.6% in 2022; and there is a notable fluctuation in the population aged 65-74, although at the end of the period it increases (from 5.6% in 1976 to 11.4% in 2022), there was a time when it decreased (from 2005 to 2013) due to the decline in fecundity that occurred in the years following the civil war in those generations.
280,000 people in the Basque Country live in single-person households and 44.3% are over the age of 64
279,814 people live alone in the Basque Country as of 1 July 2022, 12.8% of the population, and the vast majority are older people, according to Eustat data. Age characterises the vast majority of the population living alone in the Basque Country, 44.3% are aged 65 and over, 124,062 people. If we take into account the population aged 85 and over there are 32,317 people living in this situation, 11.5% of the total number of people living in single-person households.
More than 32,000 people aged 85 and over live alone and the majority (81.1%) are women
Women represent nearly three out of every four older people living alone, specifically 72.9%, whilst among the total population in this age group women account for 56.8%. This prevalence attains its maximum level in the over 84 age group, with women accounting for 81.1% of the population in this age bracket living alone, more than 26,000 women, the majority widows.
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