Abstract: The increase in the number of older people is a global phenomenon. It has mainly affected European populations, where the decline in birth and death rates has been more pronounced than in other countries. According to current trends, this phenomenon will become even more pronounced in the near future. In recent decades, population aging has been one of the most discussed demographic issues. For this reason, the EU designated 2012 as the European Year of Active Ageing and the UN proclaimed 2021-2030 as the Decade of Healthy Ageing. The aging of the population is mainly analyzed by demography, given the nature of its indicators (old-age index, old-age dependency ratio, etc.); however, its consequences fall into areas beyond this discipline: in fact, changes in the age structure of the population due to demographic phenomena (birth rate, mortality, migration) are the cause of major transformations in both the economic and social spheres and, consequently, in the directions of socio-political planning. It should be emphasized that the elderly of today are very different from the elderly of the past. Most of them are in better physical condition, have higher incomes, more leisure time and thus can plan a future full of concreteness. Therefore, the elderly society should be understood not only as a society full of old people, but also as a growing strategic asset, a great new economy, the so-called silver economy, in terms of consumption and wealth. In this note, after a brief discussion of population aging and its measures, and after defining the demographic dimensions of the Silver Economy with reference to Italy, the analysis will focus on some of the socio-economic sectors that this demographic transformation is turning into important market opportunities

Key words: demographics, aging, market, silver economy

JEL codes: J11, J14