Europe | Growing old together

Why southern Europeans will soon be the longest-lived people in the world

Diet and exercise, but also urban design and social life

An elderly couple walk hand in hand in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal
A simple secretPhotograph: Getty Images
|Madrid

The Calle de Jordán, a short street in central Madrid, encompasses the entire cycle of human life. On one block is a fertility clinic, an increasingly common sight in a country obsessed by its shortage of babies. A block further down is a day centre for pensioners, advertising services like memory training and help with mobility. It is common to see women in their 60s gently leading their 90-something mothers up to the door.

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Growing old together”

From the June 22nd 2024 edition

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