Denmark's Retiree Burden on its Shrinking Workforce


 
A declining fertility rate is causing Denmark’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 Denmark
The working-age population represents those aged 15 to 64. Period: 1950-2050.
Denmark



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

In 1950, each Danish retiree was supported by more than 7 people of working age. By 2050, this is projected to have fallen closer to 2. Denmark’s labour force participation rate is 64%, meaning that these figures overstate the number of workers available to support retirees today. Furthermore, the fast-expanding 65+, mostly-retired cohort cost Governments of rich countries more than the equivalent number of workers, due to medical and old-age-care costs (3 time seems a minimum). However, it must be noted that Denmark is in an unusually strong position in Europe when it comes to pensions, with the majority of liabilities already funded.



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