Essay Sample about Population Changes In Germany

On July 4th, 1884, the United States received the Statue of Liberty from France as a token of alliance and friendship. Etched at the base of the monument is the poem The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus which contains these words, “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.” (Lines 10-12). In recent history, few countries have attempted to embody these words as faithfully as Germany. The question that remains unanswered, however, is whether Germany has taken on this daunting task purely out of necessity, progressive lawmaking, or a mix of both. Understanding Germany’s current state of population change will require an in depth look at the nature of the country’s population change, the effects it has had on Germany’s political and economic climate, and finally solutions for the problems that have arisen from said population change.

To start, let’s get an overview of Germany’s population change in recent years. Germany suffers from a sub-replacement fertility rate, which The World Bank reports at 1.54 birth per woman, as well as an above average mortality rate of roughly 11.5 out of 1000. A recent report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Health Organization (WHO) also notes that, “Life expectancy in Germany is around the EU average but lower than most western European countries. This is mainly due to comparatively high mortality rates from causes of death that could be avoided through more effective public health and prevention policies.” (2019). On top of this Germany has one of the oldest populations in the world. The AARP had this to say about the state of Germany’s aging population, “Germany is currently one of only five “super-aged” societies in the world, and its population of those age 65 and older will continue to grow, reaching nearly one-third of the total population by 2050.” (2019). Unsurprisingly, Germany is already feeling the effects of its changing demographic, especially economically.

The core issue for Germany lies in the fact that it is not replenishing its population at a sustainable rate, which means people are aging out of the workforce and into retirement without younger workers to replace them. As one article regarding Germany’s worsening labor situation points out, “The employer-friendly German Economic Institute estimates that the labour force will shrink by more than 300,000 people this year as there are more older workers retiring than younger ones entering the labour market,” the article continues, “This gap is expected to widen to more than 650,000 in 2029, leaving an accumulated shortage of people of working age in 2030 of roughly 5 million.” (Reuters, 2022). DW.com, a German news source, also reports “Germany faces massive labor shortages unless it begins recruiting skilled immigrants to replace those retiring from the country's aging workforce, Federal Labor Agency Chairman Detlef Scheele told the daily Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ) newspaper Tuesday,” continuing they say, “"We need 400,000 immigrants per year, significantly more than in recent years," said Scheele. "From nursing care and climate technicians to logisticians and academics, there will be a shortage of skilled workers everywhere."” (2021).  Moreover, because of the COVID-19 pandemic these economic effects have been compounded. Michael Nienaber and Miranda Murray of Reuters explain, “The world's fourth-biggest economy shrank in the final three months of 2021 after growing in the previous two quarters as resurgent coronavirus infections led to renewed restrictions in retail and hospitality, the office said.” (2022). What’s more, WPR also reports that by 2060 Germany’s population will drop by 6 million people (2022). This does not bode well for the future of German economic prosperity and without proper governmental intervention the labor shortage Germany is experiencing may lead to far more outsourcing than the country can handle. The labor shortage could also have devastating effects on employers in Germany who, if unable to find employees, will be forced to shut down, effectively ending domestic German industry. Fortunately, it seems there is a solution to the labor crisis in Germany: immigration.

According to World Population Review (WPR) Germany hosted the most immigrants in 2020, second only to the United States, at approximately 15.8 million. Germany also received the most immigrants in 2018 at just under 1.4 million (U.S. News, 2021). Germany clearly needs these immigrants to maintain stable population growth and to ensure a healthy working class. In fact, it appears that this influx of immigration is one of the only things stopping German population growth from dipping into the negatives. Currently, Germany’s population growth stands at around .2 percent (WPR, 2022), however, without the substantial number of immigrants the country has taken in it is highly likely that these numbers would dip into the negatives. The liberal immigration policies of Germany may be the only thing keeping the country afloat. The only logical course for Germany to maintain a stable labor pool is to incentivize immigration in every way possible. The German government clearly believes the same, hence the incredible number of immigrants already accepted by Germany.

Changing demographics in your country is never easy. Americans understand this well as it is a topic of debate nearly every election cycle. If I was a German citizen, I believe I would appreciate the influx of immigration. It helps the economy by nearly every metric and without immigrants thousands of jobs would go unfilled, the consequences of which would be far more devastating than changing demographics. I would also appreciate that my legislature is not attached to some essentialist idea of nationalism that clouds its judgement. In essence, taking in immigrants would show me, a theoretical German citizen, that my legislature truly cared about the country. It seems like most German citizens also share this sentiment. After all, the country does desperately rely on their immigrant population to maintain a stable economy.