THANKS, GENERAL MARSHALL:

Fewer Germans in the Future?: Recently released statistics suggest Germany has the lowest birth rate of all the European Union -- a figure that is dropping. With fears a shrinking population will equate to a shriveled economy, it's little wonder the country's family affairs minister is disputing the figures. (Der Spiegel, 8/04/09)

This week figures released by Eurostat, the European Union's statistical office in Brussels, appear to indicate that Germany's birth rate is the lowest of all the 27 EU member states. [...]

The latest numbers from Eurostat are just another blow. Added to the "stable" birth rate comes a rise in the German death rate, going up from 10.1 deaths per thousand inhabitants to 10.3 in 2008. This makes Germany the country with the highest death rate among the EU states. And, according to Eurostat, it also means that the nation's population declined by 168,000.

Meanwhile, Germany's Federal Statistical Office estimates that the country's current population of 82.1 million will decline to between 69 million and 74 million by 2050 -- less than the population in 1963, when Germany had 75 million. Which could have serious implications for the country's economy: a combination of low birth rates, high death rates and longer life expectancy means fewer people of working age supporting Germany's financially demanding social security system.

There's apparently a third option: The Hun is at your throat, at your feet, or six feet under you.

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 4, 2009 6:57 AM