Population ageing has become an increasing challenge of
our time. The process of demographic ageing is more intense in the Balkan
countries, some of which have already held the world’s top positions. This
paper examines the trends of population ageing in the Balkans and the South
East Europe (SEE) countries (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria,
Greece, FYR of Macedonia, Romania, Slovenia, Serbia, Montenegro, and
Croatia) at the beginning of the 21st century and the cross-country differences
in the timing of the ageing process. In addition to the analysis of an overall
effect of the main factors, this paper examines the influence of population ageing
on labour force in the Balkan countries. There are three factors behind the
increases in the share of the population aged 65 and over: declining fertility
rates in recent decades which have reduced the relative number of young people,
the rise in life expectancy and the cohort of baby boomers over the age of
60. The ageing of the Balkan countries population introduces several major
policy challenges. Paper highlights the impact of population ageing on human
resources and labor supply.