Spanish Demographic History and Population Aging

Causes of Population Aging

Aging from the Base: Falling Birth Rates

From the decade of the 1960s until the middle of the 1970s, the falling birth rate was heavily influenced by high emigration to Europe and other Spanish regions. The primary causes were the heavy burden of agrarian activities and excessive labor. The economic situation that followed this crisis delayed the age of marriage and reduced the number of children. This trend was further driven by job contract insecurity and the high price of housing, which hampered the emancipation of young people, alongside the economic crisis of the early 1990s.

In addition, society has undergone a major shift in attitudes and values that have contributed to the decline in birth rates:

• A decline in religious influence
• The widespread use of contraceptives
• The legalization of abortion
• The entry of women into the workforce [...]

Aging from the Top: Increased Life Expectancy

These causes include an increased standard of living, medical and health advances, the expansion of public healthcare, and the return of some Spanish migrants.

Consequences of an Aging Population

The consequences of aging significantly affect economic activity and spending on pensions, healthcare, and elderly care:

• Economic slowdown: Aging reduces the active workforce and overall innovation capacity.
• Rising spending on pensions: Pension financing is sustained by active workers, whose numbers are steadily decreasing [...].
• Increased healthcare spending: The elderly consume more medication and require more frequent medical visits and care. This sometimes becomes a burden for families, leading to an increased demand for public and private nursing homes.

Historical Events and Demographic Impact

The incoming and outgoing profile of the population pyramid shows the impact of certain historical demographic events over the last hundred years. Starting from the top:

• The top bars of the pyramid: The demographic difference in favor of women is due to their longer life expectancy, and also because it was mostly men who fought and died in the Spanish Civil War.
• Between 1939 and 1943: There is a hollow indentation in the pyramid due to the reduction of births during the war, the subsequent exile of many people, and the low reproductive capacity of the period.
• Between 1944 and 1948: A recovery is not yet visible, as the country continued to suffer from the severe difficulties of the post-war era.
• Between 1949 and 1963: A demographic recovery occurred despite ongoing economic difficulties. This was aided by a reduction in mortality due to medical improvements, the extension of social security, the generalization of births in clinics, and progress in pediatrics.
• From 1964 onwards: Population growth stabilized and soon began to decrease. This decline in birth rates was initially caused by emigration and later by changing economic and social circumstances.