The deepening process of demographic ageing in the EU countries is the reality significantly influencing the adoption of a number of policy and social measures in order to positively affect the development at the national levels. The phenomenon of population ageing is a demographic event, although its consequences affect all social spheres.

Documents focused on the issue of active ageing do not define future population ageing primarily as a burden to society but more as a chance of individual societies for achieving a higher level of their development, cohesion and inter-generational sustainability. The main objectives are the following:

• creating conditions for the population for a long and healthy life
• being active in various fields, including employment and voluntary work for a longer period of time to counteracting growing inequalities in old age
• strengthening the integration of older women and men into society, creating conditions for their dignified life
• - adopting measures eliminating of age-based discrimination in whatever form.

In 2013, the National Programme for active ageing for the years 2014-2020 (pdf - 1,92 MB) was adopted with the aim of promoting human rights of older people through their mobilisation using public supportive policies. It is not just the issue of addressing the labour market participation of older people but also the support of their lifelong learning, civic and social activities outside the labour market, supporting their independence, dignity, economic and social security, including protection against ill-treatment in society and in personal relationships.

Population ageing statistics are cross-sectional, concerning all fields of social and demographic statistics, in the same manner, as state finances and the public sector. In 2012, during the European year for active ageing and solidarity between generations, the Statistical Office of the SR, was paying a special attention to this issue by issuing a publication Population of the SR in the context of the European year for active ageing, where the active ageing indicators until 2011 have been published. The monothematic issue No 3/2015 of the Journal Slovak Statistics and Demography was also devoted to the issue of active ageing.

Active ageing indicators produced and disseminated by the SO SR are based on recommendations of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) adopted at the Conference of European Statisticians in October 2016 and are published broken down into the following domains:

1. Population and attributes of age
   Monitor changes in the population age structures, focusing on the share of the older and oldest-old population and the economic dependency of the older population.
2. Participation of seniors in the labour market
   Monitor the status of the middle-aged and older population in the labour market, their ability or inability to work and thus remaining active and independent regardless of age.
3. Living conditions
   Indicators describe the living conditions of older people according to their at- risk-of-poverty threshold and social exclusion, social and pension welfare, household incomes and expenditures.
4. Health and factors affecting the population health status
   Indicators assess health as a factor of labour productivity, a basis for the development of the concept of life quality, measuring of employability of the population at older age and the progress made on enhancing access to healthcare, its quality and sustainability.
5. Education and the use of information and communication technologies (ICT)
   Characterize the oldest population in terms of the highest educational attainment and its participation in lifelong learning and assess the mastery of the older generation´s ICT skills.