Consequently, the population in the ten most populous EU states is projected to decline by approximately 23 million people between 2024 and 2050. Germany, Spain, Poland and others are projected to lose a big percentage of their current population. In a projection to 2100, Spain’s population is expected to decline by a staggering 50% or more. Government initiatives attempting to increase fertility rates, such as subsidised childcare, will be largely ineffective in the future according to the latest research.

A depopulating EU will also be an aging one. As each successive generation falls, in some cases to half the size of the previous one, the percentage of non-working older dependants will rise proportionately. Old people on average cost developed states up to ten times the cost of young people. While young people are an investment in the future, old people are predominantly purely consumers of scarce and expensive resources. This top-heavy generational pyramid will naturally put great strain on health care and old age support systems, accentuated by the projected 49-million-person shrinkage in the EU’s working-age population.
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