The "Age" of Opportunity: European Efforts Seek to Address the Challenges of an Aging Population and Also Create Opportunities for Economic Growth and Innovation

For the last ten years, Peter Wintlev-Jensen has been immersed in one of the greatest challenges the world will have to address in the decades ahead-the unprecedented aging of the population not only in Europe but also across the globe. This trend is reshaping consumer spending, challenging established economic models, driving the development of new industry and service sectors, and forcing a rethinking of key policy areas within health and social care. To quantify the challenge from a U.K. perspective, a recent report from the nonprofit organization Age UK showed that the country now has more people 60 or over than under 18 and more pensioners than children under 16. Just as striking, the number of people over 65 will rise almost 50% by 2030.