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Demographic Change: A Fateful Challenge


As long ago as August 2006 at a federal press conference Angela Merkel stated “anyone who knows how to successfully manage demographic change is to be congratulated”. Today, ten years later, the need to confront the challenges posed by demographic change has not lost its urgency. On the contrary, while global population numbers continue to rise, the German and European populations are shrinking and ageing.

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Content

Interjection

  • Editorial

    As long ago as August 2006 at a federal press conference Angela Merkel stated “anyone who knows how to successfully manage demographic change is to be congratulated”. Today, ten years later, the need to confront the challenges posed by demographic change has not lost its urgency.

    by Gerhard Wahlers

Demographic Change: A Fateful Challenge

  • Immigration as Survival Strategy

    An Interjection

    During the 25-year period from 1991 to 2015, an estimated 23.7 million people immigrated to Germany while 18.7 emigrated, immigrants therefore outnumbering emigrants by some five million. The fact that Germany’s population only experienced a modest increase from 81 to around 82 million during the same period is mainly due to deaths exceeding births by a good three million, which means that the immigrants made up for the falling birth rate to a considerable extent.

    by Meinhard Miegel

Other Topics

  • When Education Turns into a Problem

    The Impact of Demographic Factors on Political Stability in the Middle East and North Africa

    The area comprising the Middle East and North Africa is among the most crisis-ridden regions in the world. One of the key issues is that the increasingly better-educated population of working age individuals has been growing faster than the number of jobs for some time now. If the affected states do not succeed in significantly reducing this discrepancy, political instability and therefore the number of refugees and migrants from the region will continue to increase, which will also have unforeseen repercussions for Europe.

    by Reiner Klingholz, Ruth Müller

  • Be Fruitful and Multiply!

    Israel and Its Growing Minorities

    Since Israel was founded in 1948, it has defined itself simultaneously as both a Jewish and a democratic state. It is home to secular as well as ultra-Orthodox Jews, Muslims, Christians and Druze. However, due to diverging growth rates in the different populations, domestic and religious tensions have been developing which could undermine the secular and Zionist founding ethos of the Jewish State.

    by Anna Jandrey, Eva Keeren Caro

  • Programmed Explosion?

    The Potential Consequences of the Rapid Population Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa

    The African sub-Saharan countries are demographically a special case. In the course of the 20ᵗʰ century population has admittedly also grown in other areas of the world, but this process did not take place anywhere near as rapidly as in these states. If the population boom of the 20ᵗʰ century should be followed by a second one in the 21ˢᵗ century, its impacts would not stay limited to the African continent alone.

    by Serge Michailof

  • Who is Going to Bear the Cost?

    The Rapid Ageing of Latin American Societies as a Socio-Political Issue

    Currently, only around 40 per cent of Latin American citizens age 65 and over receive a regular (contributory) pension; a further 20 per cent receive a non-contributory (tax funded) state pension. The remaining elderly must continue to earn a living or rely on support from family members. While the region still has a relatively young population today, the number of people age 65-plus is set to increase to 140 million by 2050, up from under 40 million in 2010.

    by Karl-Dieter Hoffmann

  • Crane versus Stork

    Japan’s Demographic Change as a Major Challenge for Politics and Society

    Like no other industrialised nation Japan is confronted with the challenges of a rapidly ageing and shrinking population. Today, more than a quarter of the Japanese population is already over age 65. Along with a stagnating economy that is even failing to gain momentum through the acclaimed Abenomics, Japan’s demographic change is the biggest problem for the island nation. What measures is the government adopting to halt the demographic crisis? Is it perhaps already too late for counter measures?

    by Akim Enomoto, Hannes Bublitz

  • Cold War in the Gulf

    The Rivalry of Saudi and Iranian Narratives for Hegemony in the Middle East

    The rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran is much more than just a sectarian conflict: Two regional powers compete over the hegemony in the Middle East. In this struggle for dominance, both use a sophisticated arsenal of rhetorical means to construct sectarian narratives which back their real-political intents.

    by Gidon Windecker, Peter Sendrowicz

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Editor

Dr. Gerhard Wahlers

ISBN

0177-7521

Benjamin Gaul

Benjamin Gaul

Head of the Department International Reports and Communication

benjamin.gaul@kas.de +49 30 26996 3584

Dr. Sören Soika

Dr

Editor-in-Chief International Reports (Ai)

soeren.soika@kas.de +49 30 26996 3388

Rana Taskoparan

Rana Taskoparan

Referentin Kommunikation und Vermarktung

rana.taskoparan@kas.de +49 30 26 996 3623

Fabian Wagener

Fabian Wagener

Desk Officer for Multimedia

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