Population aged 65 and over in Ireland
15.7% of people in Ireland were aged 65 or over on 1 January 2025. The value for 2025 is the highest in the series, which starts in 1960.
Ireland, 2025
15.7%
Change from 2024
+0.2percentage points
European Union, 2025
22.0%ep (Source flag ep)
Median of European Union (27 countries), 2025
20.9%
Position in 2025
37th of 40
Population aged 65 and over in Ireland over time
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Ireland
European Union
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The chart loads when you scroll to it. The table below shows the same data.
The chart shows a calculation from the published values. The table below keeps the published values.
% of total population. Source: Eurostat. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.
| Period | Ireland | European Union |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 15.7% | 22.0%ep (estimated, provisional) |
| 2024 | 15.5% | 21.6%ep (estimated, provisional) |
| 2023 | 15.2% | 21.3%bep (break in time series, estimated, provisional) |
| 2022 | 15.0% | 21.1%ep (estimated, provisional) |
| 2021 | 14.7% | 20.9%bep (break in time series, estimated, provisional) |
| 2020 | 14.4% | 20.6%e (estimated) |
| 2019 | 14.1% | 20.3% |
| 2018 | 13.8% | 20.0%e (estimated) |
| 2017 | 13.5% | 19.7%be (break in time series, estimated) |
| 2016 | 13.2% | 19.4%be (break in time series, estimated) |
| 2015 | 12.9% | 19.1%be (break in time series, estimated) |
| 2014 | 12.6% | 18.7%be (break in time series, estimated) |
| 2013 | 12.2% | – |
| 2012 | 11.9% | 18.0%b (break in time series) |
| 2011 | 11.5% | 17.8%b (break in time series) |
| 2010 | 11.2% | 17.6%b (break in time series) |
| 2009 | 10.9% | 17.4% |
| 2008 | 10.8% | 17.3%b (break in time series) |
| 2007 | 10.8% | 17.1% |
| 2006 | 11.0% | 16.9% |
| 2005 | 11.1% | 16.7% |
| 2004 | 11.1% | 16.4% |
| 2003 | 11.1% | 16.2% |
| 2002 | 11.1% | 16.0% |
| 2001 | 11.2% | 15.8%b (break in time series) |
Flags: b break in time series; be break in time series, estimated; e estimated; bep break in time series, estimated, provisional; ep estimated, provisional . A dash means no value was published.
In short
- That is a change of +0.2 percentage points from 15.5% in 2024.
- Since 2015, when it was 12.9%, the figure has changed by +2.8 percentage points.
- Among the 40 countries with data for 2025, Ireland has the 37th highest value.
- The figure for the European Union in 2025 was 22.0%.
More for Ireland
All statistics for Ireland
Population aged 65 and over
16.2%
2025 · World Bank
Old-age dependency ratio
23.8 per 100 working-age people
2025 · Eurostat
Median age of the population
39.6 years
2025 · Eurostat
Population on 1 January
5,440,278 people
2025 · Eurostat
Population by age and sex
5,440,278 people
2025 · Eurostat
Crude birth rate
9.9 per 1,000 people
2025 · Eurostat