Data and facts from studies and evaluations on demographic change, on the state of democracies around the world, on “healthy buildings” and also on doctors and nurses in the OECD countries.

5

myths about the supposedly negative consequences of demographic change are clarified by the publication The Politics of Healthy Aging from 2022, which explains the facts in each case. These are as follows:

*       There is little empirical evidence to support the claim that ageing societies’ healthcare systems are unsustainable

*       It is equally inaccurate that older voters consistently elect politicians that support policies benefitting them at the expense of younger people

*       Politicians do not pander to older voters with additional government-funded benefits. If anything, overall public expenditure in European countries is tilting away from older people and towards younger people

*       Older voters are not a homogeneous group agreed on common interests; within countries they are diverse and have many different political identities and commitments

*       Voter preferences rarely explain policy choices; instead, the politics of ageing are shaped by coalitions of interested parties that can support policies with mutually beneficial objectives.

The authors also advocate a positive image for elderly people and demand an increase in measures that promote healthy ageing. They say that these should begin as early as possible and especially integrate vulnerable groups.

Source: Scott L. Greer et al.: “The Politics of Healthy Aging”. World Health Organization, 2022.

165

independent states and two territories were named by renowned UK magazine The Economist in its Democracy Index for 2023. This index is grouped into five categories: electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties. In each category, between 0 and 10 points can be reached for a number of indicators. The global average index score in 2023 fell to 5.23, down from 5.29 in 2022. This marks a new low since the index began in 2006.

Based on their index scores, each country is assigned to one of four types of regime: full democracy, flawed democracy, hybrid regime or authoritarian regime. According to the Democracy Index, only 7.8 percent of the world’s population reside in a full democracy, down from 8.9 percent in 2015; this percentage fell after the US was demoted from a full democracy to a flawed democracy in 2016. Around 40 percent of the world’s population live under authoritarian rule, a share that has been creeping up in recent years.

Source: “Democracy Index 2023 – Age of conflict”, The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited, 2024.

45

billion euros per year could be saved by energy-efficiency measures if relevant renovation work were performed in all European hospitals. This amounts to around 10 percent of the costs for healthcare incurred annually in countries of the European Union, according to the Healthy Buildings Barometer 2024. It also points out that the European Union is “not on track to reach its 2050 climate targets for energy and renovations”. In 2020, the accumulated investments in renovations of all types of buildings were about 40 percent too low to fulfil these specifications.

Source: Buildings Performance Institute Europe (BPIE): “Healthy Buildings Barometer 2024. How to deliver healthy, sustainable, and resilient buildings for people”.

1

third of all doctors and a quarter of all nurses were aged 55 or above in 2023 throughout the 38 countries that belong to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In Italy, Latvia and Estonia, the proportion of doctors who are this age even totalled 45 percent. Besides this, in Latvia almost 40 percent of nurses are at least 55 years old. The average number of doctors per 1,000 people is 3.7 in the population of OECD countries. This number ranged from 2.5 and below in Mexico, Colombia and Türkiye to over 5 in Norway, Austria, Portugal and Greece. In Greece and Portugal, however, this number also includes non-practising doctors. India, Indonesia and South Africa have less than 1 doctor per 1,000 people.

Source: Society at a Glance 2024: OECD Social Indicators.