Age structure is one of the most important demographic characteristics of the population, which is multicausally related to almost all population processes. On one hand, age structure is the complex result of processes such as fertility, mortality, immigration and emigration. At the same time, it substantially aff ects a number of socio-demographic phenomena such as marriage, divorce, migration, potential labour resources etc. Certain relationships between the age structure and other population characteristics, such as ethnic, educational, sex, economic or religious structure can also be observed. The demographic behaviour of the European population in the second half of the 20 th and the beginning of the 21 st century is characterised by signifi cant changes. They are refl ected in a number of population processes and indicies, which are typically interconnected and interrelated. These changes have been most strikingly manifested in a drop of fertility rates, changes in family behaviour, and shift s in the age structure of the population. The main aim of this paper is to analyse the time-space development of the age structure of the European population. The period of investigation is 1950-2010 which is extended by a projected development until 2060. Changes in age structure are analysed through several indicators such as coeffi cients of infl ow, outfl ow and exchange, as well as with indices of economic and social support. Authors make also eff orts to provide a complex assessment on population ageing. Using the method of standardised variable, 11 indicators of age structures for 39 European countries are used in the synthesis. In view of the londer time span, several types of age structures are pointed out in Europe.

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Acknowledgements The present article emerged at the interface of transdisciplinary research and practice with the Slovak State Nature Conservancy (SNC) and local stakeholders. The authors would therefore like to thank the many initiative people for their engagement for local action on the ground. While we cannot list them all, we would like to mention the mayor of Ubla, Nadeshda Sirkova, and the mayor of Zboj, Ladislav Ladomirjak, both in Poloniny National Park, as well as farmer Jan Bariak from Snohy, in Poľana Biosphere Reserve. We thank Zusana Okániková of Slovak NGO "pronatur" as well for developing a spin-off i.e. a twinning between Entlebuch Biosphere Reserve in Switzerland and Poľana Biosphere Reserve in Slovakia. The process of adapting the Swiss baseline methodology to the needs of large protected area management in Slovakia benefitted crucially from our excellent collaboration with the University of Žilina. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Prof. Dr. Marián Janiga and Dr. Jaroslav Solár of the Institute of High Mountain Biology in the High Tatras. The authors thank the coordinator of this Swiss Contribution programme at SNC, Ivan Koubek, for networking and fostering exchange between conservationists and local stakeholders in the Slovak pilot regions, as well as between Slovak and Swiss colleagues, mayors, farmers, and researchers of CDE at the University of Bern.

Quality of life is an extraordinarily multidimensional term. It includes both objective and subjective factors. This article reviews the quality of life of an extremely sensitive group – people over the age of 65, based on data from the pan-European SHARE survey (Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe). The survey revealed the disparities in the quality of life of seniors regarding material, health, social and emotional dimensions in 16 European countries. According to the European survey of the evaluation of the quality of life of seniors, those living in Western and Northern European countries are more satisfied with the quality of their life. Generally, it has become apparent that quality of life is interlinked with the institutional framework of the country, family support and individual approaches. Countries in Southern and Eastern Europe have lower values in individual dimensions as well as in the aggregate quality of life index.

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