Abstract. The ageing process affects the lives of all of us throughout its duration and on all levels. At the moment, Europe is facing a new challenge. Europeans, in unprecedented numbers, are very long-lived. In the last 50 years, the life expectancy at birth has increased by about 10 years, for both men and women. For the first time in the history of Europe there are so many people who have such a long and healthy life. At the same time, the working age population in the European Union has been declining for a decade and this trend is expected to continue. As the total population remains constant, the risk of labour shortages will increase, with an increase in the burden on older people to cover the social costs needed for the elderly population for a range of services associated with it. In recent years, Romania is facing a major problem, namely the alarming decline in the country's population, while exacerbating the ageing phenomenon. Thus, the population over 65 years increased, while the number of young people decreased. Also, this article analyses the evolution of the average number of pensioners and the average monthly pension in Romania, in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, using, in this regard, a series of statistical indicators and graphs.

Keywords: birth rate, life expectancy, GDP per capita, pensioner, average monthly pension, real pension index.