Finland's Unsustainable Retiree Burden on its Shrinking Workforce


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



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

In 1950, each Finnish retiree was supported by more than 9 people of working age. By 2050, this is projected to have fallen closer to 2. Furthermore, the fast-expanding 65+, mostly-retired cohort cost Governments of rich countries more than the equivalent number of workers, due to unfunded pension, medical and old-age-care costs (3 time seems a minimum). Unfunded pension entitlements also stood at 330% of Finnish GDP in the most recent Eurostat survey. Adding to this already nightmarish equation is the fact that Finland’s labour force participation rate is 60%. Therefore, these figures overstate the number of workers available to support retirees today. Consequently, an unprecedented and unsustainable tax burden is emerging in Finland.

More for subscribers:  
See more...The Alarming Cost of Aging Demographics
See more...The Aging Problem Facing All OECD Countries
See more...See more data for Finland...
See more...See more Fertility Rate data...
See more...See more 'Number of Workers to Each Elderly Dependent' data...



More perspectives using World Economics data

Japan’s Unsustainable Retiree Burden on its Shrinking Workforce
Japan’s Unsustainable Retiree Burden on its Shrinking Workforce
Decades of falling fertility are causing the working-age population of Japan to fall. Simultaneously, retirees are living longer and forming an ever-larger portion 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. In 1950, there were 12 people of working age supporting each Japanese retiree...
Extreme Heat is Costing India Billions
Extreme Heat is Costing India Billions
From 1950 to 2022 there has been over a 250% increase in the frequency of days of extreme heat in India. The International Institute for Environment and Development defines temperatures at 35c or above as extreme. At this point workers operating at moderate intensity lose half of their labour capacity according to the International Labour Organisation (ILO). A report produced by Lancet estim...
What Percent of Your Portfolio Should be Asian?
What Percent of Your Portfolio Should be Asian?
As noted in our review of Asian Governance , Asian GDP is bigger than that of Europe, the Americas and Africa combined. Asia accounts for well over half of global GDP. And Asian GDP growth has accounted for 70% of global growth over the past decade. So, shouldn't Asia comprise 50%+ of your investments by value? Probably not. The problem with Asia is that this vast geographical space (however defin...