Demography

As the population ages, there are fewer and fewer young people to finance pensions. A declining number of working-age people are generating the revenue that the welfare state uses to provide benefits. Companies must align their human resources policies with demographic change. In the long term, municipalities will also be forced to realign their services: if the population grows, they will have to build day-care centers and schools; if the population shrinks, they will have to make downward adjustments to public administration and infrastructure. It is precisely because demographic processes proceed so slowly that the socio-political challenges they bring tend to fade into the background. However, the earlier the facts and available options are brought to the table, the sooner such diverse change can be managed.