Croatia's Unsustainable Retiree Burden on its Shrinking Workforce


 
Decades of low fertility are causing Croatia’s working-age population to fall. Simultaneously, retirees are living longer and forming an ever-larger part of the population. These factors are causing an extraordinary decline in the number of working-age people available to support the expanding number of retirees.

Number of Working-Age People to each Dependent (65+) in Croatia
The working-age population represents those aged 15 to 64. Period: 1950-2050.
Croatia



Note: Y axis ratios are expressed as “X : 1,” meaning X working people to every 1 elderly dependent.

In 1950, each Croatian retiree was supported by almost 10 people of working age. By 2050, this is projected to have fallen to less than 2. Of Croatia’s total spending on social protection, 60% goes towards the category of ‘old age’, so this fast-expanding, mostly-retired cohort costs the state much more than the equivalent number of workers. Unfunded pension entitlements also stood at 320% of Croatia’s GDP in the most recent Eurostat survey. Adding to this already nightmarish equation is the fact that Croatia’s labour force participation rate is 52%. Therefore, these figures overstate the number of workers available to support retirees today. Consequently, an unprecedented and unsustainable tax burden is emerging in Croatia.

More for subscribers:  
See more...The Alarming Cost of Aging Demographics
See more...See more data for Croatia...
See more...See more Fertility Rate data...
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