Scotland's ageing population

Scotland's ageing population poses a "real risk" to the country's budget in future, a Holyrood committee has said.

The working-age population is set to fall from 2018 onwards, alongside a big increase in the number of over-75s. 

Scotland's economy is forecast to grow more slowly than that of the UK for each of the next four years and the Scottish Fiscal Commission said a "key factor" behind this was demographic change and population growth, with the number of people in the 16-64 working-age bracket set to shrink in the immediate future.

Finance committee convener Bruce Crawford said "The bad news is that while our ageing population is not new, it is set to accelerate from 2021, and this is happening faster than rest of the UK. In the longer term, all future Scottish governments will need to respond to the pressures this creates."

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-46114518