The population of the Netherlands is getting increasingly older, due to longer life expectancy and a sub-replacement fertility rate.[1][2] In Dutch this phenomenon is called Vergrijzing (English: Graying).[1] As of 1 January 2023 around 20% of the Dutch population is aged 65 or older.[3] It is predicted that this will increase to 24% in 2035 with some areas facing more severe ageing than others, especially rural municipalities in the east of the country.[4] It is expected that the following decades this percentage will continue to increase.[5][6]
The cause of the ageing population of the Netherlands can be traced back to the 1970s when the fertility rate started to rapidly drop.[7]