To commemorate this year’s International Day for Older Persons, which is celebrated annually on the 1st of October, the National Statistics Office is presenting a range of statistical data relating to this population segment.

Preliminary figures based on the latest Census indicate that, at end of 2011, nearly a quarter of the total population, or 98,547 persons, were 60 years old and over. Furthermore, population projections reveal that this share will grow to 30 per cent in 2025 and to 36 per cent in 2050.

There were 49 grooms and 21 brides aged over 60 who tied the knot in 2011 – an increase of 8 per cent over the preceeding year. Around 20 per cent of these spouses married for the first time.

Out of 3,266 persons that passed away in 2011, 2,660 or 81 per cent were aged over 64. The cause for 49 per cent of deaths occurring to persons within this age group were diseases of the circulatory system. These were followed by neoplasms at 24 per cent.

During 2011, total government expenditure on Retirement and Old Age pensions amounted to €388 million. The share of Retirement and Old Age benefits has been on the increase during over the past few years, reaching 53 per cent for the year under review from 50 per cent in 2008.

According to the 2010 Survey on Income and Living Conditions, the at-risk-of-poverty rate for persons living in households aged over 59 stood at 18 per cent, whereas that for the younger age groups stood at 14 per cent.

Figures from the same survey also revealed that nearly 11 per cent of persons aged 65 and over felt they could not afford to eat a meal that includes meat, chicken, fish (or vegetarian equivalent) every second day while 15 per cent could not afford to keep their home adequately warm.

Annual figures from the Labour Force Survey show an increasing trend in the participation of persons aged 60 and over in employment, which increased from 4.6 per cent in 2001 to 7.3 per cent in 2011.

During 2011 there were 59 persons aged 60 and over following an academic course at the University of Malta. Around 46 per cent of these students were following a course at Postgraduate level. On the other hand, students undertaking a course leading to an Undergraduate Certificate and Diploma amounted to 20 per cent. Just over 64 per cent of these students were males.

Recent statistics on outbound tourism have shown an increased participation of persons aged over 64, with figures reaching 24,185 tourists in 2011, from 12,469 in 2009.

Similar to their younger counterparts, older tourists tended to opt mostly for non-package trips. The majority of destinations chosen by these tourists were towards EU countries. From these, UK and Italy were the two most popular destinations at 35 per cent and 30 per cent respectively in the year 2011.

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