Megatrend Demographic Change

Today’s society will face increasingly significant demographic challenges in the coming decades. These are not pessimisms, but facts. A glance at current social trends in Europe shows that the population is rapidly getting older, while the number of young people is continuously declining – and has been for 50 years.

Demographic change is a defining megatrend with far-reaching implications for societies, economies, and governance structures which impact labor markets, pension systems, healthcare services, and social stability. I am very concerned about the long-term consequences of an aging workforce, population decline, and the increasing burden on healthcare and pension systems, which, if left unaddressed, could undermine social stability, economic growth, and even regional security. Aging populations, declining birth rates, and increasing unplanned childlessness, lead to a concerning worker-retiree dependency ratio that necessitates urgent and coordinated political action.

Is it possible to respond to the demographic winter? My report’s answer is yes, even if it goes beyond the scope of the efforts of one legislative period, and even if this goes way beyond just politics. Titled “Demographic Change in the OSCE Region: Analysis, Impact and Possible Solutions of a Mega Trend Reshaping Society”, I raise critical questions, asking what incentives are needed to foster family-friendly societies, why migration and digitization alone are insufficient responses to demographic decline, what challenges to security we will have to face, and how to reduce unplanned childlessness.

It is crucial to adopt policies that support families, parents, and having children, and to promote inter-generational solidarity. At the same time, we will have to intensify urban and rural development policies that ensure adequate infrastructure and services while undergoing demographic changes. If possible, depopulation of certain regions should be prevented, and where this is not possible, a strategic consolidation of settlements must be carefully planned out and sensitively accompanied.

As the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Special Representative on Demographic Change and Security, this is the 22-page report in question, presented at the OSCE Winter Meeting in Vienna on 21st February earlier this year.