Nearly 10 percent of women with elderly parents report heavy care burden | Statistics Netherlands (CBS)

An informal caregiver is defined as somebody who provides unpaid care to another person they know, such as a parent, partner, child or friend, who requires care for an extended period. An informal caregiver provides this type of care for at least 8 hours a week or has been doing so for at least 3 months. The care provided may consist of support with household tasks, washing and dressing, keeping the person company, providing transport, handling financial tasks, etc.

Over the past decade, the number of people aged 80 and over has increased by nearly a quarter, while the number of people with parents aged 80 or over has actually fallen slightly. In 2022, 1.65 million people had one or two parents aged 80 or older, while in 2012 that number was 1.67 million. People aged 55 to 59 are the most likely to have parents aged 80 or over: 10 percent of them have two parents aged 80 or over and 33 percent have one.

More people with parents aged 80 or over experience a heavy care burden than a decade earlier

In 2012, 32 percent of people with parents aged 80 or over provided informal care. Ten years later, that share was 37 percent. In 2022, 1 in 10 of them spent at least 8 hours per week providing informal care. Seven percent experienced a heavy burden of informal care: 5 percent fairly heavy, 1 percent very heavy, and less than 1 percent felt overburdened. In 2012, 5 percent of those with parents aged 80 and over experienced a heavy care burden.

Women experience a particularly heavy burden from informal care

Women are more likely to provide informal care than men. Nearly half of all women with parents aged 80 or over provide informal care; among men with parents aged 80 or over, around a quarter do. The extent to which men and women feel burdened by informal care varies. Fourteen percent of women provide 8 hours or more of informal care per week, for example. Among men, that share is 7 percent. Among women with parents aged 80 or over, 9 percent experience a heavy care burden. This figure is lower among men, too, at 4 percent.

However, the fact that women are more likely to experience a heavy care burden is not only because they spend more time providing informal care. For instance, 34 percent of women who provide 8 to 12 hours of informal care experience a heavy care burden compared to 24 percent of men who provide the same number of hours of care.

8 percent of those living close to their parents experience a heavy care burden

People with parents aged 80 or over who live nearby are more likely to provide informal care than those who live further away. For example, 43 percent of those whose parents live less than 5 km away provide informal care. Among those with parents living 50 km or more away, the share is 25 percent. Those who live close to their parents also experience a heavier care burden. For example, 8 percent of those who live close to their parents experience a heavy burden from informal caregiving, compared to 5 percent among those who live 50 km or more away from their parents.

Almost half of those with parents aged 80 or over live within 5 km of their parents, while almost 2 in 10 live 50 km or more away.

Among those with no siblings, more than 1 in 10 experience a heavy burden due to informal care

People without brothers and sisters are more likely to provide informal care than people with siblings. Among people with no siblings, 46 percent provided informal care. Among children with one brother or sister, 37 percent provided informal care, and the higher the number of siblings, the lower this share becomes. People without brothers and sisters are also more likely to experience a heavier burden of care. Eleven percent of them reported a heavy burden, compared to no more than 7 percent among people with siblings.

Among those with parents aged 80 or over, 8 percent had no siblings, 35 percent had one brother or sister, and 57 percent had at least two siblings.