СТАРАЧКА ДОМАЋИНСТВА У СРБИЈИ ОД ПОЧЕТКА 21. ВЕКА: (СОЦИО)ДЕМОГРАФСКА ПЕРСПЕКТИВА
ELDERLY HOUSEHOLDS IN SERBIA SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE 21ST CENTURY: A (SOCIO)DEMOGRAPHIC PERSPECTIVE

Summary/Abstract: The aging of the population represents one of the dominant social processes that is intensifying at the beginning of the 21st century. Its ubiquity and implications, above all in economic and social segments of society, justify the creation of the concept of “aging society”. Therefore, the goal of this paper is to review the achieved level of the aging process through the analysis of demographic indicators. Census data on the structure of households consisting of elderly people, whether single or multi-member households, was analysed to identify socially vulnerable categories that require organized and systemic support from society. The paper also deals with issues of active aging, measured by the relevant index of active aging, as well as issues of longevity and years spent in health, which are quantitatively described by indicators of life expectancy and healthy years of life. According to data from 2022 on the share of people aged 65 and older in the total population, which is 22%, Serbia ranks among the oldest countries in Europe. More than two-thirds of municipalities in Serbia have a higher proportion of elderly people than the national average, and large regional differences are also observed. The data also show that almost every fifth household is an “elderly” household, that is, it consists only of old people. Elderly households are more represented in other settlements (23.9%) compared to urban areas (20.3%). Most elderly households are single (62.3%), and the most numerous are in Belgrade and Vojvodina and in urban areas (62.0%). Two-thirds of single elderly households are made up of women, and this share is higher in urban areas (72.4%) than in other settlements (63.5%). The economic activity of the elderly was analysed based on the Census data 2022. Most of them receive a pension as their main source of income (94.3%), only 1.8% of them are employed, while 1.5% of them declared that they do housework. From the perspective of active aging and additional income, there is a great need for some kind of engagement of these persons. According to the latest available data on the Active Aging Index, in Serbia in 2018, a third of the elderly were active, and the most positive performance was in caring for children and grandchildren. Active aging promotes the results and statistics of healthy years of life, which were 69 for women and 67 for men in 2019. This means that of the average life expectancy in 2019, 78 years for women and 73 for men, living in good health makes up 88% of the average life expectancy for women and 91% for men. The multiple implications of aging require an adequate state intervention in the creation of population and social policies. In the search for an answer to the growing problem of demographic aging, a new understanding of this process through active aging and prospective old age is introduced. The paper provides an overview of the state’s response through the Strategy of Active and Healthy Aging in Serbia, but also through examples at the local level.

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