Strategic project · national development initiative
Silver Economy Slovenia
Slovenia is ageing. This fact should not remain merely a warning about costs. It should become the basis for a new economic, research and social opportunity: an economy of longevity, safe living, care, knowledge, technology and intergenerational cooperation.
Starting point
Population ageing is not only a burden. It is also a market of the future.
Most public discussions on ageing stop at pensions, healthcare costs, labour shortages and long-term care. All of this is real and important. But it is only one side of the story.
The Institute for Demographic Future opens a second question: how can Slovenia translate population ageing into a development opportunity, new services, new companies, better municipal planning and European-level innovation?
Scale of the shift
The figures are used as a strategic frame and should always be cited in public presentations: Eurostat, SURS and the European Commission study The Silver Economy.
Role of the Institute
A bridge, connector and development platform
We do not seek to appropriate the silver economy. We recognise it as essential for Slovenia’s future. Our role is connective: to create a space where data, companies, municipalities, researchers, investors, older people and public institutions can meet.
Connect
Bring together companies, municipalities, universities, public institutions and older communities into an open network with a clear development purpose.
Demonstrate
Use living labs, pilot municipalities and data to test solutions in practice, rather than leaving them only in documents.
Scale
Transfer successful pilots to other municipalities, European projects and, over time, the wider Adriatic and Balkan region.
Development model
Six pillars of the silver economy
The silver economy is not a single sector. It is an intersection of health, technology, housing, tourism, work, education and finance. Each pillar is both a social need and an entrepreneurial opportunity.
01 · Silver Tech
Technology for independence
Smart homes, telemedicine, AI assistants, fall-prevention sensors and remote health monitoring.
02 · Silver Housing
Housing for longevity
Adapted housing, intergenerational communities, safe neighbourhoods and living models for every stage of life.
03 · Silver Tourism
Health, tourism and quality of life
Wellness, cultural and health tourism, alongside rural communities for active ageing.
04 · Silver Work
Work, mentoring and knowledge transfer
Mentoring, consulting, project work and a transition from sudden retirement to an active role for experience.
05 · Silver Learning
Lifelong learning
Digital literacy, third-age learning and intergenerational knowledge exchange.
06 · Silver Finance
Financial security
Protection against fraud, wealth management, inheritance planning and financial products for a longevity society.
Who it is for
An open network for national cooperation
Government and ministries
A non-partisan development framework
A framework for Slovenia’s silver economy that presents ageing as a development task and opportunity, not only as a cost pressure.
Municipalities
Pilot spaces for the future
Municipal projections, silver district models, local pilots and better preparation for population needs in the coming decades.
Companies
A shared service ecosystem
Health resorts, care providers, medtech, IT, insurance, adapted housing, tourism and solutions for quality ageing.
Universities and researchers
Knowledge, validation and projects
Access to the field, data and communities for research, European applications, methodological validation and applied pilots.
Investors
Deal flow in a growing sector
Identifying pilots and solutions that are supported by real demographic demand and have potential for scaling.
European partners
Slovenia as a test environment
The country’s small scale can be an advantage: an organised pilot space for cross-border projects, learning and transfer of good practice.
Connection with the Time Machine
Data should show where future needs will emerge
The Demographic Time Machine is the natural data foundation of this project. It can help municipalities, companies and public institutions understand where demand will grow for care, adapted housing, mobility, digital support, health and intergenerational services.
In this way, the silver economy does not remain an abstract slogan. It becomes a development question of space, age structure, municipal data and concrete decisions.
“A project becomes real when data meet people, municipalities and decisions.”
This is also the editorial principle of the initiative: fewer grand promises, more verified pilots, measurable results and the connection of people who can actually move things forward.
First pilot directions
From ideas to tested solutions
Home fall guardian
A sensor-based system for detecting falls and automatically notifying relatives or care providers.
Silver district
A municipal model of an accessible, safe and connected neighbourhood for all generations.
Intergenerational living
A model in which young and older people exchange housing, companionship, knowledge and support.
Municipal ageing atlas
A data layer of the Time Machine for local planning of services and infrastructure.
Time frame
Three steps over 36 months
0–6 months
- Public presentation page and starting document.
- Initial conversations with companies, municipalities, universities and institutions.
- Preparation of an open network model and first pilots.
6–18 months
- Founding partners and the first pilot municipality.
- The first living-lab pilot in the field.
- European project application and preparation of a conference.
18–36 months
- Transfer of successful pilots to additional municipalities.
- A Silver Adriatic framework for cross-border cooperation.
- A sustainable model combining membership, projects, services and data tools.
Sources and methodological note
Data are a foundation, not a rhetorical decoration
In the public use of this initiative, the Institute distinguishes between verified data, projections, estimates and development hypotheses. This is essential for institutional credibility and partner trust.
Core public sources: Eurostat – population aged 65+, SURS – population and projections for Slovenia, EUROPOP2023 – long-term projections, European Commission – The Silver Economy (2018).
Eurostat: Proportion of population aged 65 and over · SURS: EUROPOP2023 projections for Slovenia · European Commission: The Silver Economy study
An open invitation to municipalities, companies, researchers and public institutions
If you see population ageing not only as a burden but also as a development opportunity, we invite you to a conversation. Slovenia’s silver economy should emerge as an open network — not as a closed project of a single actor.