AGEING POPULATIONS IN NEW MEMBER STATES.

• Position: Brief article

The ageing of the populations of the new' European Union member states and Croatia is becoming more pronounced, according to a World Bank study made public on 9 December 2010. It calls on these countries to take urgent measures to safeguard health care and social assistance systems. The report on Bulgaria, Croatia, Latvia and Poland, presented in Sofia, projects a steady increase in the proportion of those aged 65 and over in the coming decades. In 2025, more than 20% of Bulgarians will be 65 or over, compared to 13% in 1990, and the average Slovenian will be 47 years old, among the oldest in Europe, states the study. In parallel, the working age population will decrease sharply. In Bulgaria in 2010, there are four working...