In 2025, CENIE took a decisive step toward the future with DEMO·GRAFO, a project that redefines how we understand demography, longevity and territorial well‑being.
This is not just another study on depopulation or ageing. It is a scientific and technological infrastructure, built on data, that seeks to measure the invisible: the quality of life, vitality and resilience of communities that many consider “in decline”, but which in fact hold a wisdom and sustainability that the 21st century is beginning to value again.
DEMO·GRAFO, driven by the University of Salamanca within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and coordinated by the International Centre on Ageing (CENIE), is part of the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Function’s Programme for the Promotion of Sectoral Data Spaces.
Its objective is ambitious and clear: to create the first sectoral data space on demographic challenge in Europe — an interoperable, ethical and secure environment where science, artificial intelligence and data governance serve long‑lived societies.
A new perspective on longevity
For decades, demography has been narrated in negative terms: population loss, service closures, ageing. DEMO·GRAFO proposes a different approach.
It starts from a powerful premise: longevity is not a problem, it is a heritage. Older people today are not a social burden but a resource of knowledge, relationships and experience. And territories with a high concentration of older population — such as Ourense or Zamora — are not the last remnants of an exhausted model, but the first natural laboratories of a more long‑lived, supportive and sustainable society.
CENIE has always argued that the real challenge of the 21st century is not ageing, but the intelligent adaptation to longevity. DEMO·GRAFO embodies this idea by building a scientific and technological foundation capable of showing how well‑managed data can transform the perception of ageing territories and turn them into Territories of Well‑Being.
The use case: Territories of Well‑Being
At the heart of the project lies its main use case: “Territory of Well‑Being.”
Through it, DEMO·GRAFO seeks to establish scientific evidence to understand what makes a community healthier, more cohesive and happier — even in contexts of demographic decline.
The idea is simple and revolutionary: to demonstrate with data that certain rural environments, far from being doomed, are places where people live longer and better.
To achieve this, the project is developing an interoperable data architecture that integrates demographic, social, health, economic and environmental information. From these sources, scientifically validated indicators will be created to measure well‑being and quality of life in a multidimensional way: from physical and cognitive health to financial well‑being and community participation.
The pilot territories — Zamora and Ourense in Spain — offer an ideal setting to test the model.
Both provinces represent the core of Europe’s demographic challenge: regions ageing faster than average, yet preserving strong community values, healthy lifestyles and high‑quality natural environments.
A rigorous scientific approach will be applied to test the project’s central hypothesis: that well‑being depends not only on population size, but on the quality of relationships, services and community life.
Science, technology and governance
To achieve its goals, DEMO·GRAFO has built a pioneering data governance model that guarantees sovereignty, privacy and ethical use of information.
Each actor — institutions, companies, universities, local entities — retains control of its data, but shares it under common rules that ensure interoperability and transparency.
This ethical and decentralised governance is essential for building social trust in the data economy.
In addition, the project incorporates artificial intelligence not as an end in itself, but as a tool for knowledge.
Machine‑learning algorithms will help identify patterns of well‑being and vulnerability, anticipate scenarios and support decision‑making.
The aim is not only to analyse the past, but to foresee the future — and design it based on evidence.
The strength of long‑lived societies
DEMO·GRAFO is not an isolated initiative: it is part of a broader vision led by CENIE to build conscious, fair and sustainable long‑lived societies.
In this context, data are neither cold nor impersonal: they are a way of understanding life, valuing the everyday and making decisions grounded in knowledge.
The project proposes a profound cultural shift: moving from the narrative of decline to the narrative of possibility.
Every square kilometre of Zamora, every village in Ourense, can become a Territory of Well‑Being — a place where longevity is lived with fulfilment, dignity and meaning.
Because ultimately, the purpose of DEMO·GRAFO is not only to collect information, but to reveal that well‑being also has a geography: that there are places where time becomes an ally rather than a burden.
A legacy for Europe
When its first phase concludes in 2026, DEMO·GRAFO will have laid the foundations for a replicable model.
Its analytical methodology, predictive algorithms and governance framework will serve as a reference for future generations of data spaces focused on longevity and territorial cohesion.
The project will demonstrate that demography is not destiny, but knowledge in action.
As the CENIE team states: “Longevity is not measured only in years, but in opportunities. And data, when interpreted with purpose, are a form of hope.”