One in eight of EU population over 80-years-old by 2080

One in every eight people in the European Union will be 80-years or older by 2080 according to new research.

Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, released its projections on Tuesday ahead of International Day of Older Persons on 1 October.

Currently 5.1% of people in the EU are aged 80 or over. That’s set to increase to 12.3% by 2080.

In the UK, 4.7% of people are over 80, and is projected to be nearly one in 10 people by 2080 at 10.9%.

Slovakia is expected to have the highest proportion of people over the age of 80, with 16.3%.

It’s estimated that by 2080 over a quarter of the UK population will be older than 65, while 28.7% of the EU will hit that particular milestone.