Bio-demographic and health aspects of ageing in the EU

In this paper we describe and analyse a demographic data base that has been gathered for several EU countries under a research project called AGIR. The project tries to establish facts and evidence on the ageing process in EU countries and relate this process with health and retirement issues. Five dimensions of the ageing process have been considered: population, mortality, longevity, lifecourses and morbidity. Conventionally measured ageing can be caused by low fertility and longer lives and EU countries have experienced both. We emphasise the considerable compression of mortality that has taken place and conclude that there are still ample margin for this development to continue. Beyond age groups ratios we show that ages at major individual lifetime landmarks have been evolving in a way that may not be mutually compatible. As for how health status interacts with ageing, we do not see a clear picture emerging out of the little data available, although a simple exercise controlling by education of different cohorts tells us that European populations would probably grow healthier as they grow older.