The West Flemish district of Veurne has the second oldest population in the European Union.
The county of Veurne, in addition to the municipality of Veurne, also consists of Nieuwpoort, De Panne, Koksijde and Alveringem, is the second oldest in the entire European Union. VRT writes this based on a study From Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. Veurne should only give way to the Greek region of Evrytania, a mountainous region in central Greece.
geriatric patients
In Veurne County, at the beginning of 2020, 64.6% of the population was 65 years of age or older. In the Greek region this percentage is no less than 78%. The mayor of Veurne, Peter Roose (Veurne Plus), emphasizes to VRT that there are local differences. You have to determine the lion’s share of the older population in Koksijde, the municipality with the largest population. De Panne also has many old residents. Rose notes that the local hospital is often filled with “mainly elderly patients”.
According to the mayor, the staggering statistic has to do with coastal tourism. Especially with immigrants who establish their places of residence in our region. These are the people who, after the end of their careers, choose to live on the coast, in a second residence, Rose says. “The coast is attractive, especially for retirees. It’s nice to live here, of course.
mountainous and far away
Eurostat notes that the proportion of people over the age of 65 in the European Union has increased. In 2001, there were four working adults between the ages of 20 and 64 for every person over 65. In 2020, that will be fewer than three people between the ages of 20 and 64 for every person over 65.
On average, the oldest regions are found in East Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Portugal and Finland. Eurostat explains that this mainly concerns rural, mountainous and remote areas.
