Aging Population Undermines Longer-Maturity Bonds: Euro Credit

The euro-region’s ability to grow its way out of the debt crisis faces a roadblock -- an aging population.

While Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti and his Spanish and French counterparts push for measures to spur an economic expansion, Italy’s structural dependency ratio exceeds 50 percent. In other words, the number of working-age people is less than half the total population. The government forecasts the ratio will reach 63 percent in 2030 and 83 percent by 2065.