The number of people aged 65 years and over in Ireland is projected to rise by over 1 million people by 2057, from 781,000 in 2022 to 1.9 million in 2057. The overall population is projected to increase by 1.3 million over the same period, from 5.2 million to 6.4 million.
Between Q2 2019 and Q2 2024, the number of people aged 65 years and over and in employment (ILO) rose by 57% from 78,100 to 122,300.
In 2023, over a third (35.8%) of those aged 65 and over had rated their overall life satisfaction as high, in comparison with just over a quarter (26.7%) of those aged 25 to 49 years.
The number of marriages registered, where either the bride or groom were aged 60 years and over, more than doubled between 2013 and 2023, from 526 to 1,259.
In 2023, of those aged 60 to 74 years who used the internet in the past three months, over nine in ten (93%) used it to find information about goods and services, while fewer than six in ten (58%) used the internet to find health related information.
For those aged 60 and over, the number of victims of attempts or threats to murder, assaults, harassment, and related offences rose by over a third (29%) between 2019 and 2023, from 1,121 to 1,443.
The Older Persons Information Hub is located on the main CSO’s website and covers the following themes, encompassing a range of objective and subjective measures:
| Sarah Crilly | (+353) 21 453 5085 |
|---|---|
| health@cso.ie |
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Statistician's Comment
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) is today (30 September 2024) advising users of the updates to our Older Persons Information Hub, in advance of tomorrow’s International Day of Older Persons (International Day of Older Persons | United Nations) on 01 October 2024. The Older Persons Information Hub provides a snapshot of the lives of older people in Ireland by bringing together the most up to date information available on a wide range of social and economic indicators. The Hub draws from a broad range of CSO publications as well as data from across the government system.
Commenting on the Older Persons Information Hub, Sarah Crilly, Statistician in the Health Division of the CSO, said: “On 01 October every year, the United Nations celebrates the International Day of Older Persons, honouring the role of older people in our society. The day aims to raise awareness of the opportunities and challenges faced by older people in our society, who continue to play an active and vibrant part in our communities. The Older Persons Information Hub includes both social and economic indicators, which cover health, education, employment, poverty, life events, and more.
Life Expectancy, Health, and Life Satisfaction
The number of people aged 65 years and over in Ireland is projected to grow by more than 1 million people by 2057, from 781,000 in 2022 to 1.9 million in 2057. The overall population is projected to increase from 5.2 million to 6.4 million over the same period, an increase of 1.2 million. In 2022, those aged 65 years and over are expected to have 11.6 healthy life years after the age of 65 years. This compares with the EU average of 9.1 healthy life years after the age of 65 years.
In 2023, 35.8% of those aged 65 years and over had rated their overall life satisfaction as high, in comparison with 26.7% of those aged 25 to 49 years. In 2019, of those aged 75 years and over, 84% find it easy or very easy to get help from neighbours and 75% have at least three people they could count on if they had a serious problem.
Life Events
The number of opposite sex marriages where at least one of the parties involved (bride or groom) were aged 60 years and over, more than doubled between 2013 and 2023, from 526 to 1,259. In 2023, there were 435 brides and 824 grooms aged 60 and over.
For those aged 60 and over, the number of victims of attempts or threats to murder, assaults, harassment, and related offences rose by over a third (29%) between 2019 and 2023, from 1,121 to 1,443. While in 2022, the number of suspected offenders of recorded crimes, which were aged 60 years and over, was 632.
Approximately 166,000 people aged 65 years and over had a third level degree, in comparison to 216,000 with primary level or no formal education in 2022.
Employment and Disposable Income
The number of people aged 65 years and over in employment increased by 57% between Q2 2019 and Q2 2024, from 78,100 people to 122,300 people. Of those aged 65 years and over in employment in Q2 2024, one-third (33%) or 40,200 were female, and two-thirds (67%) or 82,100 were male. The average number of hours worked for those aged 65 years and over and in employment decreased from 35.2 hours in Q2 2019 to 30.8 hours in Q2 2024. The median equivalised nominal disposable income for those aged 65 years and over rose from €22,027 in 2020 to €25,986 in 2023.
Travel
Almost half (49%) of all journeys undertaken by those aged 65 years and over were for the purposes of shopping, eating, and drinking, in 2021. Over one-quarter (27%) of females and three in ten (30%) males aged 75 years and over regularly used rail services in 2021. The number of people aged 80 years and over with driving licences more than doubled between 2012 and 2022, from 47,000 to 94,500.”
Other Key Indicator Highlights:
About the Older Persons Information Hub
There are many ways to understand the lives of older people – seeing changes over time, comparing indicators across a broad range of CSO publications, and looking more deeply at the intergenerational differences within Ireland. The Hub provides indicators sourced from a range of CSO publications and surveys, in addition to statistics from other government bodies.
Commenting on the Older Persons Information Hub, Sarah Crilly said: “Given the range of possible different objective and subjective measures, it is very difficult to create a complete snapshot of the lives of older people in Ireland. The Hub contains 46 different indicators, divided into specific themes. Individuals will, depending on their own experiences, naturally assign different weights to the relative importance to each of the Older Person themes. One of the aims of the Hub is to provide an accessible facility for users to examine themes and indicators for themselves to further understand particular aspects of the lives of older people.”