According to data published by the official EU statistics office on the European population, the average age of residents in the EU reached 44.4 years on 1 January 2022 (against 44.1 in 2021), having increased by 2 .5 years compared to 2012, when it was 41.9 years. In Portugal, it rose by almost five years.

Eurostat notes that, among the 27 Member States, the average age varies between 38.3 years in Cyprus and 48.0 years in Italy, with Portugal being the second country with the highest average (46.8), followed by Greece (46.1).

Compared to 2012, Portugal recorded the highest rise in average age, +4.7 years, from 42.1 to 46.8 years, followed by Spain (+4.3 years) and Greece and Slovakia (both with +4.1 years).

Eurostat points out that the average age in the EU grew, between 2012 and 2022, in all Member States with the exception of Sweden, where there was a slight decline, from 40.8 to 40.7 years.

The European Statistical Office also underlines that, in addition to the increase in the average age, the old-age dependency ratio in the EU, defined as the ratio of the number of elderly people (aged 65 and over) compared to the number of people of working age (15-64 years), also increased in 2022, standing at 33 percent, compared to 32.5 a year earlier and 27.1 percent in 2012.

Portugal has the third highest elderly dependency ratio, at 37.2 percent, surpassed only by Italy (37.5 percent) and Finland (37.4 percent), while the lowest were recorded in Luxembourg (21.3 percent), Ireland (23.1 percent) and Cyprus (24.5 percent).