Proportion of older people in Scotland’s population projected to rise

THE proportion of older people in Scotland’s population is projected to rise: by mid-2043, some 22.9 per cent of the population is expected to be of pensionable age, compared to 19 per cent three years ago.

Says the Scottish Government, in ‘A Scotland for the future: opportunities and challenges of Scotland’s changing population’ (here): “Like many Western countries, Scotland’s population is ageing.

“Over decades, life expectancy has been increasing and the birth rate has been declining. 

“In 1980-1982, the life expectancy for a female in Scotland was 75.3 years and 69.1 years for a male. This jumped to 81.1 years for a female in 2017-2019 and 77.1 years for a male.”

In addition to the ‘pensionable age’ expected increase, the report adds: “Scotland’s age-structural shift is also projected to contain increasing numbers of people aged in the ‘oldest old’ age categories – the number of people aged 90 and over in Scotland is anticipated to double between 2019 and 2043, from 41,927 to 83,335.”

Picture credit: Place Design Scotland

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