In 2008, the German federal government will fund two pilot projects aimed at preventing the outflow of population from the country's eastern regions. The adult population under 30 has practically disappeared from the states of the former GDR. According to the Berlin Institute for Population and Development, in the years since German reunification, particularly many young women have left the east. Today, in the states of the former GDR, the number of men aged 18 to 29 exceeds the number of their female peers by 25%. This is a demographic record for the EU.
To stop the outflow of youth, the federal government announced a competition last year for projects to attract population. The winners of the competition - the districts of Stettiner Haff (state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) and Südharz (Saxony-Anhalt) - will receive €4 million from the federal budget. The money will go to infrastructure development, housing construction, financing youth projects, and supporting tourism. As emphasized by Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee, who oversees the reconstruction of the eastern states, the goal of the program is not only to prevent the outflow of population but also to bring back people who have already left the region, primarily young people.
However, economists doubt that the shortage of skilled personnel can be compensated by the return of the native population. Michael Hüther, director of the Cologne Institute for Economic Research, stated that the government needs to ease the entry of migrants into eastern Germany. Otherwise, the states of the former GDR will not see economic recovery.