Introduction

Today we can say with certainty that the care system in Western societies, and specifically in Germany, is under pressure. In the coming decade this pressure is likely to increase, not decrease. The reasons for this trend are manifold, but the main driving force of this development is demographic change. German society is growing older and has fewer younger people. The number of people in Germany older than 80 years is predicted to grow from 6.2 million in 2022 to 8.9–10.5 million in 2050. By comparison, in 1970 Germany had 1.15 million people over 80 years old.