An Increasingly Older Veneto

An army of over-65s. And half a million over-80s. This is the demographic landscape of Veneto in the coming years. An imperative arises: to plan healthcare and territorial assistance, especially in the mountains.
The Spi Cgil, the pensioners' union, is outlining the picture and defining the needs of the political agenda. They have analyzed the recent demographic data published by Istat, which shows that the elderly population will increase significantly over the next ten to twenty years. The numbers are clear and reveal an inexorable trend that is certainly positive, as it is linked to an increase in life expectancy. However, they also highlight the need to manage this evolution effectively.

THE NUMBERS
In Veneto, according to Istat projections, the army of over-65s will increase by more than 20% by 2033 and by 39% by 2043. In absolute terms, in ten years, the number of elderly will rise from about 1,170,000, representing 24.1% of the population, to 1,425,000, or 29.5%. By 2033, Veneto will count nearly 257,000 more over-65s than today. In four decades, that number will reach approximately 1,633,000, making up 34.2% of residents. This means there will be almost half a million more elderly people than today.
The situation is even more delicate for those over 80, for whom healthcare and assistance planning is not just necessary but essential, as they are the most vulnerable individuals, often suffering from one or more chronic illnesses and situations of dependency. Currently, there are 374,800 over-80s, which is 7.7% of the Veneto population. By 2033, this number will rise to nearly 450,000, an increase of about 74,000 (a 19.7% rise), representing 9.3% of the population. In 20 years, the number of over-80s in Veneto will exceed half a million (approximately 543,000), or 11.4% of the population.

IN THE PROVINCE
At the provincial level, the trend indicated by Istat follows the usual dynamics of the territories. Rovigo, which currently hosts about 63,000 over-65s (27.6% of the total residents), will rise to over 71,000 (seventy-one thousand) by 2033, surpassing Belluno in the ratio of elderly to the population (33.1%). The Dolomite area ranks second, increasing from about 55,000 (27.8%) to 62,000- sixty-two thousand over-65s (32.3%) in ten years. At the bottom of the aging trend is Verona, which will see its ratio of elderly increase from 22.9 per 100 residents to 27.7%. In between are Venice (from 25.7 to 31 over-65s per 100 residents), Padua (from 23.8 to 29.5%), Treviso (from 23.4 to 29.1%), and Vicenza (from 23.1 to 28.9%).
Among the over-80s, Belluno leads the aging ranking, as its ratio will increase from 8.8 per 100 residents to 10.6.
It is also important to consider the aging index, which indicates the ratio of elderly individuals to those aged 0 to 14 years. Currently, in Veneto, there are 195 over-65s for every 100 young people. By 2033, this ratio will rise to 281 per 100, and by 2043 (even with an increase in the number of young people compared to 2033), the proportion will spike to 303 elderly individuals for every 100 residents aged 0 to 14.