According to Statistics Denmark's population forecast, the proportion of people aged 65 and over is expected to increase from 15.9 per cent of the Danish population in 2009 to 25.0 per cent in 2035. This means that older people will demand more resources, not only with regard to preventive care and treatment provided by the healthcare system, but also in terms of services provided by other sectors (social services, culture, urban planning etc.), which must contribute to ensuring good living conditions for older people.
A description of the health and ill health of older people in 2005 generally shows that the youngest age group (65-74 yrs) lives more healthily, is less ill and enjoys a better quality of life in terms of their health than the oldest age group (75-84 yrs), and that women generally live more healthily but are ill more often than men and have a poorer quality of life from the point of view of their health.
Read more about the health and ill health of older people in the right column of this page.