THE number of Borderers aged 65 or over will soar by 51 per cent over the next 22 years, according to the Scottish Government.

Over the same period, there will be a 15 per cent decrease in the number of working-aged people – aged 16-64 – in the region.

The new National Records of Scotland (NRS) report also predicts that the population of the Borders – 113,870 in the 2011 census – will rise by just 3,100 or 2.3 per cent by 2039. 

This compares to the 6.6 per cent population increase which Scotland as a whole is expected to experience.

The NRS says its projections do not take account of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union.

But, with the issue of freedom of movement of EU citizens high on the agenda of Brexit negotiations, the report states: “Working age migrants can play an important role in addressing the ageing population.”

The NRS also offers a new analysis of the number of people from the European Economic Area (EEA), which includes Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein as well as the UK’s 27 EU member state partners, who have settled in the Borders.

It acknowledges that the 2011 census did not include a question on nationality.

Of the Borders population, 2.8 per cent (3,200 people) were born in the EEA, compared to three per cent across the whole of Scotland.

Of these, 78 per cent (2,500 people) were aged 16-64, compared with 62 per cent of the regional population. 

Only 11 per cent of the EEA-born residents (360) were aged 65 and over, compared to a region-wide proportion of 21 per cent.

Some 68 per cent of EEA-born residents aged 16 or over (2,000 people) were in employment, compared to 58 per cent of Borderers as a whole.

The main sectors of employment for EEA residents were distribution, hotels and restaurants (460), manufacturing (445) and public administration, education and health (440).

A smaller proportion of EEA residents was “economically inactive” – 26 per cent (750 people) compared to a Borders-wide average of 38 per cent.

The report also reveals that the proportion of EEA-born residents aged 16-74 who held a degree level qualification was 39 per cent (1,100 people) – higher than the 28 per cent of the regional population.

With regard to all overseas nationals in the Borders who have been allocated National Insurance Numbers (NINos), the top five nationalities are Poland, Romania, Ireland, Australia and Italy.

In Scotland as a whole, the top five nationalities for NINos are Poland, Romania, Spain, Italy and Bulgaria.