Is Germany Prepared For the Demographical Change?

Most developed countries face shrinking populations and ageing societies. The IW-Demography-Index describes the population structure in the OECD countries and the possibilities to influence its development.

It outlines each country‘s potential to adapt successfully to the demographic change in fields such as employment, education, innovation and public finances. The findings show that Germany belongs to the group of countries which are most seriously affected by demographic change and that the low birth rate and the immigration structure will prevent a trend reversal in the future. Yet so far Germany has insufficiently adapted its institutions to this development. Its ability to do so is notably lower than that of countries with a similar demographic trend.