Ireland has the youngest population in Europe with just 11 per cent of people aged 65 and over, compared to the EU average of 17 per cent, new figures show.
The young age profile of the population is linked to factors such as the relatively young age of migrant workers and those born during the baby boom of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
However, there is a projected increase in the proportion of older people over the next 20 years which will pose significant challenges for policymakers in areas such as pensions and the cost of residential care.
The age dependency rate - a measure of older people as a proportion of those of working age - is set to increase from 16 per cent in 2006 to 25 per cent in 2026.
This is still significantly ahead of the EU's projected age dependency ratio in 20 years (37 per cent, up from 25 per cent at present).
The figures are contained in a special report compiled by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) on ageing in Ireland.
Ireland has one of the highest rates of nursing home care for older people with 5.5 per cent of over-65s normally resident in a hospital or nursing home. This proportion increased with age to 10 per cent of those age 80-84 and 23 per cent for those over 85.
Only the Netherlands has a higher proportion of older people in nursing home care (6.1 per cent). The proportion in the UK is 4 per cent, while in Italy it is just 1.4 per cent.
Life expectancy for older people is continuing to increase, with statistics for 2005 showing the average lifespan for a man born in Ireland at 77.3 and 81.7 for women, above the EU average. There has also been a significant narrowing of the gap in the age-related death rates for men and women aged 65 and over. For men, life expectancy at age 65 has risen from 12 years in 1978-1980 to 15 years in 2001-2003. For women, the corresponding increase was from 15 years to 19 years. However, in recent years the life expectancy of men has been rising at a faster rate than for women.
Figures also show that older people are travelling more, both home and abroad, with several trips a year. In 2006, an average of 1.4 international and 1.8 domestic trips were taken by over-65s. International trips taken by over-65s doubled from an average of 0.7 in 2002 to 1.4 in 2006. Domestic trips also increased for this age group from one trip on average in 2002 to 1.8 trips in 2006.
Older people are also active in voluntary work. Last year about 15 per cent of men and women aged 65 gave their time to help with various groups and activities. The majority were involved in voluntary work for a religious group or church (47 per cent) or a social or charitable organisation (41 per cent).
They were among the most civic-minded when it came to voting. In the 2002 general election some 86 per cent of over-65s who were eligible to vote cast their ballot, significantly higher than the turnout of people aged 18-64.
The main reason why older people did not vote in the election was due to illness or disability (43 per cent). Other main reasons included being away, no interest or disillusioned.
Fear of crime is also a major issue among older people, even though a very small percentage have been victims of crime. Last year 63 per cent of persons aged over 65 felt there was a "very serious problem" with crime, compared to 43 per cent of people aged 18-64.
For both older men and women, theft without violence was the most common way they had suffered from crime. A total of 1.1 per cent were affected in 2006.
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