Alzheimer Europe Report

Elderly people with dementia in Italy, bitter 1st place in the EU and by 2050 we will rise to 2.2 million

Our country has a share of 2.4 per cent in relation to the population with about two thirds of patients being women and is estimated to double to 4.2 per cent in 2050: the update presented by the Alzheimer Federation Italy leads experts to call for an acceleration of policies for non-self-sufficiency

by Health Review

28 January 2026

Aggiungi Il Sole 24 Ore
ai preferiti su Google

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Weighing up ageing
"Sprint to the Non-Self-Sufficiency Reform"
"For the EU to be a priority"

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

There are more than 1,430,000 people with dementia in Italy today, destined to become 2,200,000 by 2050, with an expected increase of 54%. Italy is the EU country with the highest proportion of people with dementia in relation to the population: 2.4 per cent, a percentage that is estimated to rise to 4.2 per cent in 2050.

This is what emerges from the new report 'The Prevalence of Dementia in Europe 2025', released by Alzheimer Europe - a network that brings together 41 national associations from 36 different countries - and presented by the Alzheimer Federation Italy. The document, an update of the previous publication "Dementia in Europe Yearbook" of 2019, contains data on the prevalence of dementia in Europe and in the individual countries considered in the study, i.e. the 27 in the European Union plus 11 others outside the EU where there is an organisation linked to Alzheimer Europe: Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iceland, Israel, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

Weighing ageing

The increase of dementia cases in Italy is a direct consequence of the ageing population. In fact, it mainly concerns the older age groups, which are also the ones set to grow the most in absolute terms: by 2050 there will be 1.7 million people with dementia over 80. The report also highlights a strong gender dimension: in our country, around two thirds of people with dementia are women.

In 2025 there will be about 946 thousand women with dementia, compared to 491 thousand men; in 2050 there will be more than 1.4 million, compared to 807 thousand men. Women, therefore, experience a particularly disadvantaged condition, both in terms of health and in economic and social terms: they fall ill more, but are also more involved than men in caring for and caring for family members with dementia.

At the European level, the report estimates that people with dementia will increase from almost 9.1 million in 2025 to over 14.3 million in 2050 in the European Union, an increase of 58%. If non-EU countries included in the study are also considered, the overall increase will be 64 per cent.

"Sprint to the Non-self-sufficiency Reform"

'The message coming from this report is clear,' says Mario Possenti, secretary general of Federazione Alzheimer Italia and vice-president of Alzheimer Europe. 'Failure to act today risks further aggravating the challenges ahead. In Italy, dementia is a real public health emergency. The National Dementia Plan is in the process of being updated, but it is essential that the government and institutions guarantee concrete answers, ensuring a homogeneous care and assistance pathway throughout the country, supported by adequate funding. The ageing of the population and the increase in the number of cases call for an acceleration of the reform of care for the non-self-sufficient elderly. Without timely intervention, the risk is that more and more families will find themselves alone to deal with the burden of dementia, and this we cannot allow.

The data in the report therefore reinforce the appeal Alzheimer Europe and its members have been making to European and national policy makers for years. Health and social care systems must be enabled to offer quality care and support throughout the life course, from diagnosis to end-of-life care, and dementia must become a research priority. The report is also published at a time when the future EU budget is under discussion and the focus of decision-makers is increasingly shifting from the previous strong focus on health, social policies and research, to focus on defence and economic competitiveness policies.

"For the EU to be a priority"

"The challenge posed by dementia in Europe is already very relevant today and will become even more so in the coming decades," says Jean Georges, Executive Director of Alzheimer Europe. "We hope that these updated figures will push policy makers, at European and national level, to recognise dementia as a cross-cutting priority, covering health, research, social policies and caregiver support. Our Helsinki Manifesto, adopted during Alzheimer Europe's Annual General Meeting in 2023, indicates concrete actions in this direction and reiterates the need for a European Dementia Action Plan and a dedicated research mission, both supported by adequate funding.

Brand connect

I prossimi eventi

Tutti gli eventi

Notizie e approfondimenti sugli avvenimenti politici, economici e finanziari.