According to the report The Silver Economy, produced by Oxford Economics, the European Commission and Technopolis, by 2060, one in three Europeans will be over 65, radically inverting the population pyramid. A similar trend will be followed by the rest of the planet’s developed countries, which will transform consumer habits and the elderly will become the driving force behind what is known as the silver economy or grey economy, which represents the set of activities aimed at satisfying the needs of the over 50-55s, who today represent 25% of European GDP, and in 2025 will account for 37.8% of their jobs.
With two weeks to go until the first anniversary of the WHO’s declaration of the global pandemic, the relevance of technology and its application in the field of health has become more than evident, especially in this group, which is much more vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19 and which requires greater attention and monitoring.
In an increasingly digitalised society, the longevity of the population will definitely set the pace of the economy and particularly the activity of technology companies, which will have to meet these needs by investing in innovation and generating applications that promote a better quality of life for this group. The care market, tourism for the elderly, active ageing and technology to make life easier for the elderly are the future and the present of the economy.
This increase in demand will boost the economy, particularly in a region like Galicia, which in challenge 3 of its RIS3 smart specialisation strategy already defined a new model of healthy living based on the active ageing of the population.
Innovative disciplines such as nanosciences, biotechnology, robotics, IoT or artificial intelligence should become the lever of this new reality, offering new formulas to make our later years better.