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Article: Germany's population ageing, shrinking: study.(Business)
- Article from:
- Manila Bulletin
- Article date:
- April 24, 2004
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BERLIN (AFP) Germanys population is shrinking and ageing and the biggest impact is being felt in its industrial heartlands, according to a demographic study released Thursday.
If the trend continues, it could mean trouble both for German productivity and its pensions system, which is already creaking under the strain.
The study by the Institute for World Population and Global Development in Berlin warned that German society would "radically alter" in coming decades, with a falling birth rate combining with an ageing population.
The worst-hit region in western Germany will be the industrial Ruhr basin, the powerhouse of Europes largest economy, ...