Major changes have taken place in the Spanish demographic structure since 1975, and above all during the eighties, raising serious questions about the consequences of such a profound mutation.

Spain has recently begun to suffer problems which were peculiar to more advanced societies until a very few years ago, such as the ageing of the population, although these problems are still less acute in Spain than in other European Community countries. This is because the high fertility and birth rates during the sixties and the first years of the seventies have made the Spanish opulation one of the youngest on the continent.

Therefore, while the proportion of over 65-year olds in Denmark, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Germany in 1990 was 16%, they amounted to only 13% of the total population in Spain.

Structure of the population (percentages) in Spain according to age:
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Years           Under 15 years    15 to 64 years    65 and older
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1900                  34               61                5
1910                  34               60                6
1920                  32               62                6
1930                  32               62                6
1940                  30               64                6
1950                  26               67                7
1960                  27               65                8
1970                  28               62               10
1981                  26               63               11
1986                  22               66               12
1991                  19               67               14
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Source: National Statistics Institute
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