Demographic ageing through alternative indicators in the NUTS 2 regions of Czechia between 2003 and 2023

The main objective of this article is to compare standard and alternative methodologies in measuring demographic ageing at the regional level in Czechia. We apply different indicators, such as the proportion of elderly people, the ageing index, the old-age dependency ratio, the pensioners to workers ratio, and real elderly dependency ratio, at the NUTS 2 regions of Czechia between 2003 and 2023. The concept of prospective age and linear interpolation method were also used in this article. The analysis revealed a continuing increase in the regional heterogeneity of Czechia in demographic ageing, as well as significant differences in the level of ageing between standard and alternative methodological approaches. When using alternative indicators, the North-west region can be considered the oldest, while the Prague region appears to be the youngest. It should also be noted that alternative indicators exhibit higher sensitivity to external mortality influences.