Senior economy in Poland
Senior economy in Poland

Summary/Abstract: Since the early 1990s, noticeable demographic changes in Poland and throughout Europe have been observed. One of the most important of these is the continuous process of ageing of populations. The transformation of the age structure of a population entails significant changes in the scope and structure of demand for goods and services on the market. Economic entities should thus take the special needs of the elderly into consideration and adjust their production accordingly. This kind of economy, increasingly oriented towards the elderly, is called the senior economy (also known as the silver economy), or, in a narrower sense, the market of goods and services for seniors. The aim of this paper is to present the size and structure of the senior economy in Poland, understood as the market of goods and services for seniors. Figures describing this market come from the survey of the senior economy in Poland from the supply side, which was carried out by Statistics Poland in the years 2017–2018 as an experiment. The presented data refer to the year 2016 unless otherwise stated. This paper also utilises data from the National Health Fund (NFZ), Social Insurance Institution (ZUS), Agricultural Social Insurance Fund (KRUS) and Credit Information Bureau (BIK), added there to enhance the characteristics of the Polish market of goods and services for seniors. As the results of the research demonstrate, entities of the national economy in Poland do not yet perceive the elderly as a significant group of customers. It is the non-commercial entities rather than the commercial ones that more often focus their activity on catering to seniors’ needs. The majority of them operate in the health and care sections, which are the areas most often associated with the senior economy.

• Details
• Contents