Countries with aging populations also offer job opportunities. Japan has a people problem and, as it turns out, so do a few eurozone countries. Japan’s declining birthrate, aging population and low immigration have the country concerned for its future. In 2012, Japan’s population declined by 212,000 people, the largest decrease ever recorded. So what’s behind the graying of these eurozone countries? Euromonitor International says cultural and social changes have led to decreasing birth and fertility rates as well as longer life expectancies. Across the eurozone, average life expectancy at birth is 80 years, which is significantly higher than the global average of 70.5 years.
Euromonitor International reports that Germany, Italy, Greece and Austria are getting old, also. In a special report, this leading international research firm says that these four countries rank only behind Japan in median age. Germany’s median age of 45 trails Japan by 0.6 years. Italy is in third place with a median age of 43.8 years, followed by Greece’s 42.5 years and Austria with a median age of 42.4 years.
Germany and Italy, according to the report, had the highest number of elderly in the eurozone, 16.9 million and 12.5 million respectively. Both also had the highest proportion of population aged 65 and over, 20 percent of the total population of both countries in 2012.
Rounding out the top 10 countries with aging populations are Finland, Slovenia, Hong Kong, Bulgaria and Switzerland.
There may well be a sunny side to this report, though. Aging populations create labor shortages and that means increased opportunity for those who have their eyes set on working abroad. While many countries face high unemployment, the European Commission says there are 2 million unfilled jobs across the EU, many of them in Germany, a country known for its diverse population.