Europe’s demography and what to do about it

Abstract

Among the EU’s challenges, demography is probably the least conspicuous. This does not, however, mean that it is unimportant—quite the contrary. While in the past, it was visible only in population statistics, in the 2020s the lack of a labour force has become obvious to anyone with an interest in the European welfare state and the EU’s competitiveness. Population ageing, caused by increasing longevity and persistently low birth rates, cannot be addressed by encouraging women to have more children or by bringing in non-EU migrants. These methods are ineffective, and often resented. Instead, the key to improving the state of the EU’s demographic and economic prospects lies in increasing labour participation rates. This can be done by pushing up the statutory retirement age and creating the right conditions for older people, women, minority groups and diasporas to enter the world of work. While the latter measures are also not easy to implement, they are still more politically and socially viable than boosting immigration and birth rates.