Welcome to the Population: 3 website.

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Aging Populations and Immigration

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Rapid population growth hasn't been a concern in Europe for several decades now. In fact, what is more troubling to demographers is the fact that the populations in many of these countries are actually shrinking and rapidly aging. Reporters have even given this trend a name: they call it the greying of Europe.

How big a problem is it? Well, according to one expert, if current trends continue, the age of the average European will go from 37 in 2008 to over 52 years old by 2050. As you might expect, this dramatic growth in the elderly population in Europe will lead to a number of economic problems.

First and foremost, the older people get the more likely they are to retire, which means that they will be taking money from the government rather than paying in the form of taxes. Therefore, a much smaller percentage of working age people will be forced to make up the difference. About the only sector of the European economy that can expect a bit of a bump because there will be more retired people is the travel industry as retirees are likely to rent Warsaw apartments and accommodation .

What else do we know about aging populations? Well, we know that they require more medical care, especially in the form of prescription medications. And since people are living longer than ever, most industry insiders have predicted a doubling or even a tripling of health care costs over the next few decades in Europe.

Is there a solution? As far as we know, the only real solution is to eliminate restrictions on immigration so that countries can import more working age people who will pay their taxes and take some of the burden off of younger residents.