CzechRep 12th in EU, best of newcomers in active ageing

The AAI assesses the employment of seniors, their participation in social life and politics, their chances of independent life and the environment they live in.

It has been completed by the Vienna-based European Centre for Social Policy and Research in cooperation with the EC and the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe.

The experts used statistical data released by individual countries.

One of the AAI´s co-authors, Juliane Winkelmann, today said the Czech Republic fares quite well. It it the best out of the new member countries, and it even finished better than France and Italy, which have much higher VAT, she said.

The best situation in terms of active ageing is in Sweden, though it met only 44 percent of the criteria set by experts.

The Czech Republic met about one-third of them, a result close to France and Portugal´s.

Slovakia, which shared a joint state with the Czechs until 1993, met 28 percent of the criteria and ended 24th in the EU.

The bottom positions were occupied by Poland, Lithuania and Malta.

Winkelmann said the Czech results are in certain respects better than those of some richer EU countries´, but it should consider whether its results are sufficient, because in other respects the Czech Republic lags behind others.

The Czech result has been spoiled by seniors´ low physical activeness, low participation in volunteer activities and their low health comfort, Winkelmann said.

In the Czech Republic, 58 percent of 55-year-old people have a chance to live till their eighties, compared with Sweden´s 77 percent.

Out of Czech seniors, 5 percent regularly pursue physical activities, compared with Sweden´s 29 percent.

One-fourth of Czechs aged from 60 to 64 have a job, compared to three-fifths of their Swedish counterparts.

Modern technologies are used by less than one-third of seniors in the Czech Republic and three-fourths in Sweden.

Czechs seek far less often than Swedes medical check-ups aimed to uncover possible cancer.

The number of smokers has been rising in the Czech Republic, unlike elsewhere in Europe. Czechs also consume alcohol more than others, Winkelmann said.

In the categories of seniors´ employment and of the surrounding environment, the Czech Republic occupies the 14th position.

It ended 11th in terms of seniors´ participation in social life and in their chance of independent life.

AAI co-author Kai Leichsering said the results should serve countries to take measures to improve the situation where needed.

Author: ČTK
www.ctk.cz