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Ageing of the Netherlands

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The population of the Netherlands is getting increasingly older, due to longer life expectancy and a sub-replacement fertility rate.[1][2] In Dutch this phenomenon is called Vergrijzing (English: Graying).[1] As of 1 January 2023 around 20% of the Dutch population is aged 65 or older.[3] It is predicted that this will increase to 24% in 2035 with some areas facing more severe ageing than others, especially rural municipalities in the east of the country.[4] It is expected that the following decades this percentage will continue to increase.[5][6]

The cause of the ageing population of the Netherlands can be traced back to the 1970s when the fertility rate started to rapidly drop.[7]

History

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After the Second World War the fertility rate of the Netherlands was for twenty consecutive years higher than 3.0, with the baby boom as an outlier between 1945 and 1954.[8][5] Starting in 1969 the fertility rate started to decline rapidly; in 1973 it reached 2.1 and in 1976 it stabilized at around 1.5 to 1.6.[8]

In 1900 around 6% of the Dutch population was aged 65 or older and fifty years later, in 1950, this percentage was less than 8%.[9][10] In 1975 this had increased to 11%.[11] In 2024 those aged 65 or older were estimated to be 20.5% of the Dutch population.[12]

Implications

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Economy

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The number of workers that are aged 55 or older has increased since the early 2000s.[13] In 2020 3.3% of the workers in the Netherlands was aged 65 or older.[14] How employers look at older workers differs; most employers that already employ older workers look more positively to older workers than those that do not employ older workers.[15] Some noted issues with older workers are that they may be less able to cope with work pressure and employing them will result in an increase in wage costs for companies.[16] The ageing of the Dutch population will also lead to a shrinking work force and more demand for workers.[17]

Public finances

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The ageing of the Dutch population will also impact the public finances since it will lead to more government spending to deal with age related issues, while the number of people contributing to public finances will decrease as a result of a shrinking work force.[11] One of the areas this will put pressure on are social services because ageing will lead to more demand and rising costs.[18][1]

Society

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The increasing number of older people will lead to more demand for care, both informal and professional care.[19][20]

Military

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As a result of ageing more military personnel are leaving the Dutch Armed Forces, while at the same time the number of new recruits is fewer than those leaving.[21][22] To counter this the Ministry of Defence has started new initiatives and recruitment campaigns to raise awareness of the importance of the armed forces among the youths and make them consider pursuing a career in the Dutch armed forces.[21]

Government policies

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The Dutch government has taken several policy measures to deal with the ageing of the population. One of these measures is raising the age of retirement.[23]

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c "Wat wordt precies bedoeld met vergrijzing? En waar staat Nederland nu?". MAX Vandaag (in Dutch). 30 November 2023.
  2. ^ van den Brekel and Deven (1996), p. 90.
  3. ^ "Bevolking | Vergrijzing". Vzinfo.nl (in Dutch). 19 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Prognose: in 2035 vooral meer inwoners in en om grotere gemeenten". Planbureau voor de Leefomgeving (in Dutch). 6 July 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Is de vergrijzing een probleem?". NPO Kennis (in Dutch). 20 December 2023.
  6. ^ Peter Ekamper and Nico van Nimwegen (6 June 2018). "Demografie in het kort: Vergrijzing". Demos (in Dutch).
  7. ^ van den Brekel and Deven (1996), pp. 91-92.
  8. ^ a b van den Brekel and Deven (1996), p. 91.
  9. ^ Willemijn Land (1 August 2023). "Vergrijzing in Nederland: de cijfers". Bureauvijftig (in Dutch).
  10. ^ "Vergrijzing". CBS (in Dutch). 2022.
  11. ^ a b "2.5 Uitdagingen voor de overheidsfinanciën de komende jaren" (in Dutch). Ministerie van Financiën. 2022.
  12. ^ "Elderly people". CBS.
  13. ^ "Aantal werkende ouderen bijna verdubbeld sinds 2003". NU.nl (in Dutch). 14 October 2017.
  14. ^ "300 duizend werkende 65-plussers in 2020". CBS (in Dutch). 25 August 2021.
  15. ^ Dionne Faber, Sanne van der Laan and Nienke Bilo (27 June 2023). "Hoe kijken werkgevers naar oudere werknemers?". SCP (in Dutch).
  16. ^ Bovenberg, Van Soest and Zaidi (2010), pp. 256-257.
  17. ^ "Demografische ontwikkelingen: meer doen met minder mensen". Werk.nl (in Dutch). 4 September 2023.
  18. ^ "CPB: vergrijzing leidt tot jaarlijks overheidstekort van 16 miljard". NOS (in Dutch). 17 December 2019.
  19. ^ van den Brekel and Deven (1996), pp. 96-98.
  20. ^ "Vergrijzing dwingt tot harde keuzes in de zorg: 'Niet alleen arbeidsmigratie'" (in Dutch). Nieuwsuur. 16 January 2024.
  21. ^ a b Hanneke Keultjes (19 September 2023). "Prinsjesdag 2023: miljarden extra voor Defensie (en Oekraïne), maar Navonorm wordt wéér niet gehaald". Het Parool (in Dutch).
  22. ^ Saminna van den Bulk (12 October 2023). "Miljoenennota in vogelvlucht" (in Dutch). Alle Hens.
  23. ^ OECD (2014), pp. 52-55.

References

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  • OECD (2014). Ageing and Employment Policies: Netherlands 2014: Working Better with Age (Report). OECD Publishing.
  • Bovenberg, Lans; Van Soest, Arthur; Zaidi, Asghar, eds. (2010). Ageing, Health and Pensions in Europe: An Economic and Social Policy Perspective. London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-230-28290-2.
  • van den Brekel, Hans; Deven, Fred, eds. (1996). Population and Family in the Low Countries 1995. European Studies of Population. Vol. 4. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers. ISBN 978-94-010-7234-2.
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