The number of people in Ireland aged 85 and over is projected to almost quadruple in the space of 30 years, the Central Statistics Office has said in a new snapshot on the lives of the country’s older people, showing how the country is rapidly ageing.

The 85+ age bracket would see a rise from an estimated 104,300 in 2027 to 389,400 in 2057.

In addition, the CSO said the old-age dependency ratio — which expresses the number of people aged over 65 as a percentage of working age adults, aged 15-64 — is expected to increase significantly in that same time, from 25% in 2027 to 49.8% in 2057, meaning by 2057 for every retired person there will be only two working age people versus four now.