Silver economy
The silver economy is the whole of economic activity related to the needs of people over 50: from healthcare, pharmaceuticals and finance, through housing and tourism, to technology, media and care services.
In Polish it is also called “srebrna gospodarka”, although in industry practice the English name is used more often. The term entered circulation in the European Union and describes not a single industry but a cross-section of many: the common denominator is the age of the customer, not the type of product.
Which industries does the silver economy cover?
The ones most often listed are health and pharmaceuticals, finance and insurance, tourism, housing including home adaptations, assistive technologies, media and entertainment, and care services. The list is open, and that is the most important thing about it. A category becomes part of the silver economy when it starts designing products with the mature customer in mind, not when it starts selling them what it already had.
How does the silver economy differ from silver marketing?
The silver economy is the supply side and the demand side together: a market. Silver marketing is the way of communicating with that market. A company can operate in the silver economy without doing silver marketing, as shown by manufacturers whose customers are mainly people over sixty but whose ads are aimed at thirty-year-olds.
How big is this market in Poland?
The demand side can be estimated from demographics and spending: 14.9 million people over fifty and about PLN 30 billion in monthly spending. The full calculation, together with its limitations, is in the dataset Poles aged 50+ in numbers.
We do not give a value for the whole silver economy market in Poland, because it does not exist in a form that could be honestly cited. Global market reports work with figures that differ by an order of magnitude, depending on which industries they include in the definition.
How does the silver economy differ from the longevity economy?
In its starting point. The silver economy looks at the age of the customer, the longevity economy at extending life and fitness, so it also covers products bought by younger people with their later years in mind. In practice the two terms overlap heavily, and in Polish industry materials they are sometimes used interchangeably.
See also: what silver marketing is, YOLD, Silver, Senior, Poles aged 50+ in numbers.
Sources
European Commission, work on the concept of the silver economy in EU policies - ec.europa.eu
Statistics Poland (GUS), „Ludność. Stan i struktura oraz ruch naturalny w przekroju terytorialnym w 2025 r. Stan w dniu 31 grudnia” [“Population. Size and structure and vital statistics by territorial division in 2025. As of 31 December”], table 1 (14.9 million people aged 50+, a 39.9 percent share; the age groups were summed by Silver TV) - stat.gov.pl
California Management Review 68(2)/2026, share of the 54+ group in consumer spending
Quick answers
What is the silver economy?
The silver economy is the whole of economic activity related to the needs of people over 50, covering healthcare, finance, housing, tourism, technology, media and care services.
From what age does the silver economy count?
Most often from 50, although some studies use a threshold of 55 or 60. So when comparing data you need to check which threshold the author used.
What is the silver economy called in Polish?
Srebrna gospodarka. In industry materials, however, the English name is used more often.
silver-marketing.pl is published by Silver TV — internet television for viewers aged 50+ in Poland, with its own formats and a community on four platforms.
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