In the set of EU-28 countries, the dependency ratio has reached an average of 30.5% in 2018 compared to 25.5% in 2008. However, the figures vary considerably among the member states of the European Union, with countries like Italy, Finland, and Greece being close to 35% and others closing the ranking around 21%.
The country with the highest proportion of people over 65 years old is Italy with 35.2%, followed by Finland and Greece, both above 34%, while Portugal and Germany are already around 33%. Sweden and France are, along with Latvia, above 31%, while Croatia and Estonia also exceed the European average.
Seventeen EU countries remain below the average. In Spain, the proportion of elderly people, dependent on the working-age population, reached 29.2% in 2018. The figure has been increasing in recent years, as in 2008 we were still at 23.8%. Belgium and the Netherlands have a similar rate to Spain. The rates are already below 25% in Cyprus and Slovakia, with Ireland and Luxembourg being the two countries with the lowest figures in the EU-28.
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