State Commission advises on challenges to demographic developments | news item

News item | 06-07-2022 | 14:11

The size and composition of the Dutch population will change over the next thirty years due to aging and migration. These demographic developments pose major challenges and uncertainties. The cabinet wants to gain more insight into the possible scenarios up to 2050. The question is what the consequences will be for society, how the government can respond to this with policy and what effects this will have.

The ‘State Committee on Demographic Developments 2050’ has been set up to map out the challenges and possible solutions. This is what Minister Van Gennip of Social Affairs and Employment writes in a letter to the House of Representatives.

One of the challenges facing the Netherlands is that population growth is likely to continue in the coming decades. However, it is uncertain how much the size and composition will change. Researchers from the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI) and Statistics Netherlands (CBS) have therefore calculated various variants. All these variants show that the proportion of the population with a migration background is increasing, the proportion of elderly people is increasing and the working population is shrinking.

This has consequences for various sectors. Consider, for example, the labor market, which is already struggling with shortages. But the consequences will also be noticeable in healthcare and on the housing market. For example, because the elderly continue to live independently for longer and the demand for care is increasing. The correlation between developments in different sectors makes this issue even more complicated.

broad view

Nevertheless, it is possible, to a certain extent, to influence this with policy. Those policies may involve influencing demographic factors, such as life expectancy or migration, but those are not the only options. It can also help to promote participation in the labor market or a healthy lifestyle.

In all of this, the government has in mind that the Netherlands also wants to be a country with great, broad-based prosperity by 2050. The question is what is needed for this in view of the different demographic variants.

That is why the ‘State Commission for Demographic Developments 2050’ is being asked to advise on scenarios, possible policy options and perspectives for action by the government, with regard to the social consequences of demographic developments, in particular of aging and migration. The committee focuses on the consequences for the most important policy areas, from urban development to the labor market and care.

The committee will start after the summer and aims to deliver the advice by the end of 2023.

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