Articles, research summaries and practical guides on ageing, care and longevity in Europe. Every figure we publish links to the source it came from.
Report · Policy
WHO's halfway review of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030), sent to the UN General Assembly on 28 September 2026. It finds progress since 2021 but calls for greater investment: 33.8% of reporting countries have very little or no funding dedicated to developing long-term care.
Read the source: UN Decade of Healthy Ageing: midpoint reportResearch · Economics of ageing
A working paper modelling future EU long-term care needs under three demographic and three health scenarios. In all of them the population aged 85 and over grows substantially, but how healthy people are matters more than ageing alone, which makes prevention and healthy ageing central.
Read the source: Europe's long-term care gap: longevity risk and health uncertaintyPolicy
WHO/Europe's regional strategy for a lifetime of health and well-being, shaped with all 53 Member States. It moves from fragmented services to integrated, person-centred care, with priorities from prevention and carers to the care workforce and better data. Up for adoption in Copenhagen, 27–29 October 2026.
Read the source: WHO Europe 'Ageing is Living' strategy 2026–2030Policy · AgeTech
Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 delays the AI Act's high-risk rules: from 2 December 2027 for Annex III uses, and from 2 August 2028 for AI in regulated products such as medical devices. Important for AgeTech and digital-health companies planning compliance.
Read the source: AI Act 'Digital Omnibus': new deadlines for high-risk AIPolicy · Care workforce
The Commission's update reviews progress towards the EU's 2030 social targets. For care, the key commitment is a European Care Deal, planned for 2027, to tackle long-term care workforce challenges.
Read the source: Updated European Pillar of Social Rights Action PlanStatistics · Economics of ageing
Based on 2025 data, people aged 15 and over in the EU can expect to work for 37.5 years on average, up from 37.2. A useful benchmark for discussions about longer working lives, older workers and pensions.
Read the source: Expected working life in the EU reaches 37.5 yearsReport · Demography
By 2050 about one in three EU residents will be 65 or older, up from one in five today, and the number of people needing care is expected to rise from 36 to 48 million by 2070. The report also looks at the growing longevity economy.
Read the source: Demography Report 2026: demographic transformation in the EUPolicy · Economics of ageing
The EU's first Anti-Poverty Strategy aims to lift at least 15 million people out of poverty or social exclusion by 2030. It includes supporting older people through adequate pensions.
Read the source: EU Anti-Poverty StrategyStatistics · Demography
The EU's median age rose from 39.6 years in 2005 to 44.9 in 2025, and 22% of the population is now 65 or over. Italy has the highest median age (49.1), Ireland the lowest (39.6).
Read the source: Demography of Europe, 2026 editionStatistics · Demography
The EU population is projected to peak at 453.3 million in 2029 and fall to 398.8 million by 2100. These are 'what-if' scenarios rather than forecasts, and they feed into the EU's 2027 Ageing Report on the costs of ageing.
Read the source: EU population projections 2025–2100 (EUROPOP2025)Research · Care workforce
A strategic analysis based on labour market data and almost 140 interviews. It describes a mostly female care workforce with many mobile and non-EU workers and an older age profile, facing rising demand as the population ages.
Read the source: The long-term care sector: labour mobility and enforcementFunding call · Funding
Research and innovation funding to help people with long-term disabilities, explicitly including older people, live independently at home and in the community. Total budget €39.3 million, around €6–8 million per project. Opens 10 February 2027.
Read the source: Horizon Europe 2027: independent living and inclusion across the life courseFunding call · Funding
Funding for personalised approaches that reduce adverse drug reactions in people taking three or more medicines, a problem that especially affects older patients. Total budget €38 million, around €8–10 million per project. Opens 10 February 2027.
Read the source: Horizon Europe 2027: reducing harm from multiple medicationsFunding call · Funding
Funding for clinical trials of new treatments for diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, with patients and carers involved in the research. Total budget €39.3 million, around €10 million per project. Second-stage deadline 22 September 2027.
Read the source: Horizon Europe 2027: clinical trials for neurodegenerative diseasesFunding call · Funding
Social-science-led funding to improve the lives of people with dementia, ease the burden on informal carers and help health, long-term care and social services work together. Total budget €16 million, around €3.2 million per project. Opens 2 March 2027.
Read the source: Horizon Europe 2027: better outcomes for people with dementia and informal carersFunding call · Funding
Grant and equity funding for start-ups and SMEs scaling breakthrough innovations, open to AgeTech, care technology and longevity. Short proposals can be sent at any time. The 2027 dates are a draft until the Work Programme is adopted, expected by the end of 2026.
Read the source: EIC Accelerator 2027: funding for AgeTech and health-tech start-upsResearch · Economics of ageing
OECD Health Working Paper No. 194 projects that public long-term care spending will almost double by 2050, to 2.8% of GDP, driven by more older people needing care.
Read the source: Future long-term care spending across OECD countriesStatistics · Health & care
In 2024, 40.0% of people in the EU aged 65 and over rated their own health as good or very good, compared with 68.5% of the whole population. Ireland had the highest share among older people (62.0%), Lithuania the lowest (12.5%).
Read the source: 40% of people aged 65+ consider themselves healthyResearch · Health & care
A comparative study of residential, home-based and community-based care in 38 countries. Every EU country offers all three, but choices are often limited by availability, workforce shortages and cost rather than by what people prefer.
Read the source: Long-term care settings for older people in EuropeStatistics · Demography
In 2024, life expectancy at birth in the EU was 81.5 years (women 84.1, men 78.9). The highest regional figure was in the Comunidad de Madrid (85.7 years).
Read the source: EU life expectancy reaches 81.5 yearsPolicy
The Commission's first strategy on fairness between generations sets out 15 actions to build long-term thinking into EU policymaking, including a planned Intergenerational Fairness Index and a Demography Forum.
Read the source: EU Strategy on Intergenerational FairnessPolicy · Health & care
Baroness Casey called for 'a moment of reckoning' on adult social care, pointing to underfunded services, low-paid care work and the divide between health and social care. The commission's work is meant to lay the foundations for a National Care Service.
Read the source: Casey Commission on adult social care in England: a call for urgent actionResearch · Care workforce
A science-for-policy brief finding fewer informal carers available to today's generations than in the past. Younger adults may carry more care in their 50s and 60s and receive less in old age. It recommends sharing care more fairly, supporting carers and expanding formal services.
Read the source: Informal long-term care, demographic change and intergenerational fairnessResearch · Care workforce
The second wave of EIGE's EU-wide survey on unpaid care, with over 65,000 respondents aged 16–74 in all 27 Member States. It covers informal long-term care, childcare and housework, and how caring affects work-life balance, mental health and social participation.
Read the source: Sharing care, closing gender gaps: CARE Survey 2024Research · AgeTech
A review of wearables, AI, robotics and virtual reality in the care of older adults. Real-world use still lags behind the technology, and the authors recommend user-centred design, more real-world testing and digital inclusion.
Read the source: Promoting healthy ageing in a digital worldStatistics · Health & care
An estimated 9.1 million people were living with dementia in the EU27 in 2025, projected to reach 14.3 million by 2050. Includes figures for each country.
Read the source: Prevalence of dementia in Europe 2025Research · Health & care
A study of 706 rehabilitation professionals in 45 countries confirms six ways of delivering rehabilitation for people aged 60 and over, and finds uneven availability across the region.
Read the source: Rehabilitation models for healthy ageing in the WHO European RegionReport · Health & care
The flagship report of the WHO Commission on Social Connection on the health effects of loneliness and social isolation, and on what individuals, communities and countries can do to build social connection.
Read the source: From loneliness to social connectionStatistics · Economics of ageing
In 2023, 45.1% of people aged 50–74 in the EU received a pension: 39.7% an old-age pension and 4.6% a disability pension or other periodic disability benefit. The highest disability shares were in Estonia, Denmark and Lithuania.
Read the source: 4.6% of people aged 50–74 rely on disability pensionsResearch · Economics of ageing
Poor health significantly raises the chance of leaving work early. Eurofound recommends a mix of measures: flexible and part-time hours, training and lifelong learning, workplace adjustments, and rehabilitation for people returning after an absence.
Read the source: Keeping older workers in the labour forceNothing matches that search yet. Try another word or topic.
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