Babyboomers in the Netherlands: What the statistics say - Cbs

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Because of the lower birth rates in Belgium – especially in the Walloon provinces – the population there has aged further than in the Netherlands. In Germany, the process has progressed significantly further. In 2010, 20.7 percent of Germans were already 65 years or older, compared with 15.3 percent in the Netherlands. Low birth rates – extremely low in former East Germany for a long period – are the main reason that the Germans are a few decades ahead of the Dutch in terms of population ageing. So, although the Dutch are ageing, in a European perspective they are still relatively young. Over-65s, 2010 Ireland Iceland Slovakia Cyprus Poland Luxembourg Malta Romania Norway Czech Republic Netherlands Lithuania Denmark Population growth in Europe, 1940–1990 live births per 1,000 inhabitants 32 26 20 14 8 0 1940 1950 1960 Netherlands United Kingdom 1970 Belgium France 1980 1990 United Kingdom 1) Slovenia Hungary Spain France Switzerland Finland Estonia Belgium Latvia Bulgaria Austria Portugal Sweden Greece Italy Germany 0 5 10 15 20 25 % of the population Spain Source: Mitchell 1) 2009 Source: Eurostat Baby boomers 41
11 Ripples of a birth wave Jan Latten As its name implies, the baby boom generation, born in the period 1946–1955, differs from other generations because of its massive size. The sudden population increase had a number of knock-on effects: overcrowded primary schools in the 1950s, an influx of pensioners from 2010, a sharp increase in the number of infirm over-80s from 2025 onwards. The final effect will be felt by funeral directors. Grey consumers The post-war birth wave will continue to wash ashore in the coming decades. Some 225 thousand people in the Netherlands will celebrate their 65th birthday in 2012. By comparison: only 181 thousand will celebrate their first birthday. In the coming years too, the increase in the number of over-65s will continue to be large. So large in fact that in five years’ time half a million over- 65s will have been added to the population. The extra growth of half a million older consumers will become a new factor in the economy: the silver economy will start to boom. Statistics have shown that in relative terms, car sales rose by most among buyers aged 80 years and older: in the period 2000–2009 the number of cars in this age group doubled, to over 160 thousand. And there has been a noticeable increase in political and media awareness of senior citizens as target groups. In the long term, the ageing baby boomers will account for a grey consumer group numbering around 4.6 million people. One million vulnerable elderly These will be consumers with a relatively long autumn of life. A man born in 1946 who lives to celebrate his 65th birthday still has a life expectancy of nineteen years. For a man born 1930, this was only sixteen years. This senior stage of life is therefore now nearly as long as the youth stage. In addition, most of them will live beyond the age of 80. Around 2050, 1.8 million people in the country will be over 80: ten percent of the population. Obviously, provision of care and services will be an important factor in the silver economy, certainly for elderly single people who do not have a partner to support them. The number of vulnerable elderly people will increase by less than the total number of old people, although the Netherlands Institute for Social Research expects the number of vulnerable elderly people to increase by 300 thousand, to approximately 1 million by 2030. About one in five of these elderly people will have no children or grandchildren. Who is going to take care of 42 Statistics Netherlands
Page 2: Baby boomers in the Netherlands Wha
Page 6 and 7: Contents 1 Prolific war marriages 6
Page 8: … soon followed by a sibling The
Page 11 and 12: Relationship dynamics Statistics Ne
Page 14 and 15: 3 Staying in and going out The firs
Page 16 and 17: They were a close-knit group: they
Page 19 and 20: means of transport and the most str
Page 21 and 22: 5 Row on row of terraced houses Bet
Page 23 and 24: considerable, and housing demand hi
Page 25: Low educated, but prosperous 6 The
Page 28 and 29: Baby boom households account for 18
Page 30: This increase in participation rate
Page 33 and 34: egulates a number of adjustments to
Page 36 and 37: 9 More than 3 million state pension
Page 38 and 39: Model-based calculations For the sa
Page 41: migration. Demographic developments
Page 46 and 47: References Beer, J. de, ‘Geboorte
Page 49: Publisher Statistics Netherlands He

Babyboomers in the Netherlands: What the statistics say - Cbs

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