Populations worldwide are ageing at a faster pace than in the past, and this
demographic transition will affect almost all aspects of society [1]. The number
and proportion of people aged 60 years and more in the population are increasing;
in 2019, the number of people aged 60 years and older was one billion; this number
will increase to 1.4 billion by 2030 and 2.1 billion by 2050 [2]. Population ageing
is an irreversible worldwide trend. This is the inevitable result of demographic
transition, the trend towards longer lives and smaller families, which occurs even in
countries with relatively young populations. In 2021, one in ten people worldwide
was aged 65 and over; by 2050, this age group is forecasted to represent one in six
people worldwide [3]. Globally, the number of people aged 80 years and over is
increasing even faster than the number of people aged 65 years and over. By 2050,
the world will have an estimated 459 million people aged 80 years and over, which
is nearly triple the number in 2021, at approximately 155 million [3].
This finding was seen in all regions of the world where the number of older
people increased rapidly between 1980 and 2021, a trend that is likely to continue
for the next three decades [3]; even in Portugal, the proportion of older people as in
other countries has been increasing steadily over the past decades. By 2050, Portugal
expects an old-age dependency rate of 68.8%, which is one of the highest ratios in
Europe [4]. The North interior of Portugal, namely, Terras de Trás-os-Montes, is
following the same behaviour as what is being observed in the world and in Portugal.
Since it is a region located in the northern interior of Portugal and is considered a region of low population density, it has been seeing an increase in the ageing index,
and the ageing trends are evident. It is highlighted that in 2021, Terras de Trás-osMontes’ region presents an ageing index of 359.0.
This work is funded by the European Regional Development Fund through the Regional Operational Program North 2020, within the scope of Project GreenHealth-Digital strategies in biological assets to improve well-being and promote green health, Norte-01-0145- FEDER-000042. The authors are grateful to the FCT Portugal for financial support by national funds FCT/MCTES to UNIAG, under project no. UIDB/04752/2020.
