The Silver Economy in CEE: Demographics as an Asset Class

• The European Commission estimates the European silver economy at about €5.7 trillion, after growth of roughly 5% per year since 2015.
• On 1 January 2025, 22.0% of the EU population was aged 65 or over, and Eurostat projects 32.5% by 2100.
• Poland recorded the largest increase in the share of people aged 65 or over in the EU between 2015 and 2025, followed by Slovakia and Croatia.
• Demographic change is predictable because the older adults of 2050 have already been born, which gives investors a clear view of future demand.
• The strongest opportunities sit where health technology supports healthy aging, independent living and earlier diagnosis.
• Aegis Capital, a HealthTech & Longevity VC, invests in early-stage startups from Central and Eastern Europe that address the health needs of an aging society.

What Is the Silver Economy?

As a concept, the silver economy is the part of the economy driven by the needs and spending of people aged 50 and over, a group some analysts describe as the longevity economy. A study commissioned by the European Commission estimated its value at €3.7 trillion in 2015, measured mainly as private spending by older people on goods and services from housing to recreation. The same study counted about 199 million people aged 50 and over in the EU in 2015, or 39% of the total population, and projected 222 million, or 43%, by 2025.

The European Commission now estimates that the so called silver economy has grown by roughly 5% per year on average and currently reaches about €5.7 trillion. The Commission frames it as a source of innovation in health, social and digital services, and as a market for accessible products in healthcare, food, transport, tourism and education. For companies, the size of the segment means that designing for older people is no longer a niche decision.

What Older Consumers Spend On

Spending power shifts as people move toward retirement. Three spending categories stand out in the silver economy:

• Health and care: prevention, diagnostics, treatment of chronic conditions and support at home.
• Housing and mobility: age-friendly homes, adaptations and transport that allow people to stay independent.
• Leisure and learning: cultural and leisure activities, travel and education, since retirement often brings more free time.

Each category rewards products that combine accessibility with a clear benefit for well being, and the boundaries between them are blurring as new technologies enter the home.

From Social Burden to Market Opportunity

For decades, policy debates framed an aging society mainly as a fiscal cost. The study for the European Commission forecast that by 2025 the silver economy would contribute €6.4 trillion to EU GDP and support 88 million jobs, equivalent to 32% of EU GDP and 38% of employment. Those figures describe economic activity linked to older consumers, not a pool of revenue waiting for any single company.

Governments and EU member states still face higher spending on pensions and care, and Eurostat notes that the working-age population will carry a heavier burden in providing for the social expenditure required by the ageing population. The same trend creates demand for new products and services that keep people healthy and independent for longer, which is where private capital and public priorities meet.

How Europe's Population Is Changing

Population aging in Europe follows from two long-term forces: people are living longer, and fewer children are born. Eurostat describes the resulting shift as population ageing "at the top" and "at the bottom" of the population pyramid. The table below summarizes the key indicators.

Why the Population Pyramid Is Changing

The EU population pyramid is narrow at the bottom and wide in the middle because of the baby boomers, people born during the period of high fertility after World War II. Eurostat notes that these cohorts are now moving into retirement age, while consistently low birth rates narrow the base of the pyramid. Increasing life expectancy adds to the elderly population at the top, a process Eurostat calls ageing at the top.

The oldest age groups are growing fastest. Eurostat projects that the share of people aged 80 and over in the EU will rise 2.5 times between 2025 and 2100, from 6.2% to 15.3% of the total population. The old-age dependency ratio, which compares people aged 65 and over with people of working age, is projected to rise from 34.5% to 59.7% over the same period, so the number of working-age people per older person will fall from just over three to fewer than two.

The Global Picture

The shift is global, although developed countries are further along and already have the highest proportion of older people. According to the United Nations World Population Prospects 2024, global life expectancy at birth reached 73.3 years in 2024, and by the late 2070s people aged 65 and over will outnumber children under 18. The world's population aged 80 and over is projected to exceed the number of infants under age 1 by the mid-2030s.

The United Nations declared 2021 to 2030 the Decade of Healthy Ageing, placing increased longevity alongside the goal of keeping those extra years healthy. That focus on healthy ageing shapes public funding, research priorities, policy initiatives and procurement across health systems in the coming decades.

Why Central and Eastern Europe Stands Out

Central and Eastern Europe is aging from a younger starting point, but at a faster pace. Eurostat data show that between 2015 and 2025 the share of people aged 65 and over rose by 5.6 percentage points in Poland, 4.8 in Slovakia and 4.3 in Croatia, the three largest increases in the EU. Bulgaria already has one of the oldest populations in the Union, with 24.0% of residents aged 65 and over and an old-age dependency ratio of 38.7% in 2025.

Emigration of young people and low fertility intensify the trend. Analysis by Bruegel, based on Eurostat projections, shows that between 2023 and 2050 the working-age population is set to shrink by more than 20% in Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Poland, together with Greece and Portugal. Eurostat also projects that the median age in Lithuania and Poland will rise by more than 10 years by 2100. That speed gives founders in the region an advantage: they can test solutions in health systems that already face pressures other markets will meet later.

Poland as a Case Study

Poland, the largest economy in the region, shows how quickly the structure can change. According to Statistics Poland (GUS), the share of people aged 65 and over is projected to rise from 20.9% in 2025 to 32.6% in 2060, while the population falls to 30.9 million. The largest increases are expected among people aged 70 and over, and the sharpest declines among people aged 40 to 49.

Did you know: In none of the scenarios prepared by Statistics Poland will the share of the working-age population exceed 50% in 2060. People outside working age will then outnumber people of working age, a structural change that affects health systems, labor markets and consumption patterns at the same time.

Demographics as an Asset Class

Investors increasingly treat demographic change as a long-term investment theme with its own logic. Most economic trends depend on forecasts of behavior; population aging depends largely on people who are already alive. That predictability does not remove risk, but it changes where the uncertainty lies.

What Makes Demographic Demand Predictable

Three features make aging attractive as a long-term investment theme:

• Visibility: the older adults of 2050 have already been born, so the size of future age groups can be projected with more confidence than most consumer trends.
• Persistence: population aging moves in one direction over decades, independent of short-term market cycles.
• Health intensity: age is one of the strongest risk factors for chronic diseases, so an aging population raises demand for diagnostics, treatment and care.

For health technology, the third feature matters most. More older people with multiple conditions means more need for early detection, remote monitoring and treatment that reduces hospital stays.

Where the Risks Sit

Predictable demand does not guarantee that any product will succeed. Health systems decide what they reimburse, regulators set the evidence needed for medical claims, and older users adopt new tools only when they are simple and clearly useful. A demographic tailwind rewards companies that solve these practical barriers, not every business that targets older people.

Tip: If you are building a product for older adults, test it with older users from the first prototype and collect clinical or real-world evidence early, since reimbursement and procurement decisions depend on proof of benefit.

Where Health Technology Meets the Silver Economy

Technology for older people, often called AgeTech, reaches across the silver economy. Its most valuable applications support independent living and help detect problems before they lead to hospital admissions. Diagnostics, digital therapy, remote monitoring and tools for chronic disease management all serve the same goal of extending healthy life, and they turn everyday health data into insights that clinicians can act on.

Neurodegenerative diseases show why earlier diagnosis matters in an aging society. The risk of conditions such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's rises with age, and treatment options work best when the disease is identified early. Non-invasive screening tools that can be used outside specialist centers could widen access to that early diagnosis.

Example: Inoko Vision, a company backed by Aegis Capital, is developing NeuroFET, a non-invasive optical device that tracks retinal eye movements to assess the neurological state of the brain. The technology uses eye movement as an objective biomarker for early screening and monitoring of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

Why Early-Stage Capital Matters in the CEE Silver Economy

Health innovation for older adults needs capital long before it generates revenue. Clinical validation, regulatory approval and integration into health systems take years, and many promising companies in Central and Eastern Europe struggle to fund that path at home. Early-stage investors with healthcare experience help founders build evidence, plan certification and prepare for entry into larger international markets.

Aegis Capital is a HealthTech & Longevity VC that invests in early-stage startups from Central and Eastern Europe, with AI and digital health, diagnostics, digital therapy and human improvement among its investment areas. The fund has a capitalization of PLN 80 million and offers an initial ticket of up to PLN 3 million, with total funding of up to PLN 8 million per company across follow-on rounds.

FAQ

What is the silver economy?

The silver economy covers the products and services used by people aged 50 and over, from healthcare and housing to leisure activities. The European Commission estimates its value in Europe at about €5.7 trillion.

Is the silver economy the same as the longevity economy?

The terms overlap and are often used interchangeably. Both describe economic activity driven by longer lives and the needs of older people.

Why is Central and Eastern Europe aging so quickly?

Low fertility, emigration of young people and rising life expectancy combine to shift the age structure. Between 2015 and 2025, Poland, Slovakia and Croatia recorded the largest increases in the share of people aged 65 and over in the EU.

What is the old-age dependency ratio?

It compares the number of people aged 65 and over with the number of people aged 15 to 64. In the EU it was 34.5% in 2025, which means just over three people of working age for every older person.

Which sectors benefit most from population aging?

Healthcare, long-term care, housing adaptations, transport and leisure all see rising demand. Health technology benefits in particular, since age increases the need for diagnostics, monitoring and treatment of chronic diseases.

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