Spanish population to age drastically by 2050: UN report

03:24, 3 October 2012

MADRID. October 3. KAZINFORM Over a third of the Spanish population will be at least 60 years old by the year 2050, said a report published by the United Nations on Tuesday.

According to the report, Aging in the 21st century, Spain would then rank as the seventh largest aging country in the world, after Japan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Portugal, Cuba, South Korea and Italy, with 38.3 percent of its citizens over 60.

The report also predicted that the percentage of Spaniards aged 80 and above will more than double from 4.4 percent to 10.4 percent by 2050, higher than the expected European average of 9.3 percent, Xinhua reports.

The aging population would present a daunting challenge to the Spanish government, given the strain on the pension system as well as social security, home help and the health service, along with its youth unemployment of some 50 percent.