Senior market

Introduction French Senior Citizens: More to Come The French of the Future: An Aging Population Services for the Elderly in France

France is getting older. From 18% of the population in 1975, the number of +60 year olds as a percentage of the population is forecast to reach 31% by 2030. The French government is currently analysing a series of demographic studies focusing on possible repercussions of population aging. How France responds to the challenge of its aging population will be the dominant factor for determining economic success for the next thirty years.

A series of high-profile reports were published this year, highlighting and detailing the demographic trends affecting France, notably a study by INSEE (INSEE no 1089, July 2006) and by DIACT/CAE (Territoires 2030). While details differed, the broad conclusion of the studies was that France has one of the fastest aging rates in the developed world. This is a reflection of three realities:
1. The current age pyramid in France
2. Longer life expectancies
3. Lower birth rates

Longer life expectancy is an established global trend and appears irreversible. Worldwide, life expectancy at birth is currently 67 years, versus 45 in 1950 and 30 in 1990. World fertility rates, on the other hand, have fallen from 5 in 1950 to 2.7 today (1.6 in the developed world).

According to UN statistics, the proportion of over 60s in the world total population should rise from 10% in 2002 to 21% in 2050. This proportion should peak at 33% in the developed world. Japan is expected to experience the most pronounced and earliest developments while in Western Europe, the trends will begin to be more felt as of the second half of this decade as Baby Boomers begin to reach retirement age. France leads the Western European major countries in the rate of its population aging.