As Expert Online notes, the main reasons for the difficult situation in Germany are the same as in many other developed countries. These are an aging population and a shortage of labor in important sectors of the economy such as industrial production and healthcare. In addition to the labor shortage, an aging population increases pressure on the pension system and the healthcare system.
More than 20% of Germans are now over 65 years old. In this respect, Germany is second only to Japan worldwide. On the other hand, Germany has one of the lowest birth rates – 8.42 per 1,000 inhabitants.
The demographic problem is very acute in Germany. The baby boom occurred in the mid-1960s. This means that in about 10 years, Germans born in those years will begin to retire. Specialists at the Institute for Employment Research claim that the labor force in Germany will decrease by about 7 million people by 2025.
The peak of migration to Germany, according to the Federal Statistical Office Destatis, occurred in 2013, when 1.226 million people arrived in the country and 789,000 left. Despite the influx of labor from abroad, there is a chronic shortage in certain sectors of the economy.
Of course, the German government is trying to prepare for difficult times. In 2012, for example, Berlin launched the 'Blue Card' program, which simplifies the procedure for hiring qualified migrants. It allows migrants with higher education and an annual income exceeding €35,000 to obtain a permanent residence permit.
Authorities are also trying to raise the birth rate through a generous maternity support program. For example, large families receive €215 per month.
However, experts understand that in the long term, the main solution to the labor shortage problem can only be migration. Unsurprisingly, Chancellor Merkel proposes to change the rules for distributing migrants in Europe. The German leader asserts that the current Dublin rules are no longer working.
The day after British Prime Minister David Cameron categorically rejected at a European summit on migrant issues the proposal to accept some refugees from North Africa, the German chancellor stated that the number of migrants allocated to countries should be tied to their size and the size of their economies, and called for a revision of the rules. Obviously, such changes pose little threat to Germany itself, because last year the number of people wishing to settle there was 173,070, more than double that of any other European country. For example, in the UK that figure was 31,260 people.