The European Commission released a report on August 26th predicting that the average ratio of the population over 65 years old among all EU member states will rise from 17.1 percent in 2008 to 30% in 2060. The report pointed out that the continuing low fertility rate and the increasing number of older people are the main reasons for the growing aging population in the EU. According to forecasts, from 2008 to 2060, the average proportion of the population over 80 in EU member countries will rise from 4.4 percent to 12.1 percent.
The report quoted the EU Bureau of Statistics and said that the total population among the EU's 27 member countries is expected to rise from 495 million early in 2008 to 521 million in 2035; and begining in 2060, the number will gradually decrease to 506 million. From 2015 onwards, the total number of deaths among all EU member countries is expected to exceed the number of births, indicating that natural population growth will stop but the growing number of immigrants will contribute to population growth over a period of time.
By People's Daily Online
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