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Graying Germany

On track to become the world's "grayest" country, Germany is facing one of the world's biggest population of seniors. Read more about the consequences in this special DW-WORLD dossier.

https://p.dw.com/p/6cWJ

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Germany's older population is set to skyrocket over the next decades. Demographers forecast that by 2050, more than one in three Germans will be over 60 -- due to low birth rates and longer life spans.

While most European societies experience the same phenomenon, Germany is expected to become the country with the oldest population in the world.

Already, Germany is becoming a distinctly "gray" nation and the change is requiring changes in all aspects of life: Seniors need work, housing and even prisons, as this selection of DW-WORLD stories on the topic shows.

Click on the links below to find out more!

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Reports & Analysis

Workers Over 40: "Diamonds in the Rough"

In spite of high unemployment in Germany, a Cologne-based company is trying to help place the unemployed over 40, arguing that their age gives them an advantage in knowledge and experience.

Discovering the Silver Economy

In TV ads, most people are young and beautiful. But this is changing in Germany and elsewhere in Europe as businesses discover that seniors have lots of money they'd prefer to spend on products created for their needs.

Help Yourself Before the State Does

How will Germans live in 2020? More self-sufficiently as they learn to wean themselves off the generous social welfare system, according to researchers looking into the future.

Germans Gloomy About the Future

A study by the Emnid research institute reveals that Germany's 50-plus generation are happier with their lot than their European peers, but feel considerably more pessimistic about the future.

German Models Come of Age

In the modelling industry, youth is everything. But as Germany's population ages, advertisers are increasingly using older models to tap into a target group with money to spend -- seniors.

Getting the Gray Vote

Senior citizens make up a third of the German electorate and are being wooed by all the parties. But when it comes to one of the issues that concerns them -- pensions -- they don't think any one party has the answers.

A Second Bite of the Employment Cherry

Retired professionals in Germany are turning their backs on allotments and organized bus tours to return to the jobs they loved as volunteers in some of the remotest places on earth.

A Germany Without Children?

Click here for DW-WORLD's dossier on Germany's struggle to deal with declining birth rates.

Germans Willing to Work Past Retirement

Only a minority of elderly people in Germany are satisfied with saying goodbye to their working environment at the age of 60, says a study presented on Monday by the German minister for family affairs, Renate Schmidt.

Controversy Over Rising Retirement Age Heats up in Germany

German government plans to raise the retirement age from 65 to 67 more quickly than previously intended have stirred a heated public controversy. Some politicians now have already started to demand exceptions.

Choosing Death Over Dependence

Germany is facing a new problem in its struggle with a graying population: Afraid they will lose their independence, some aging Germans decide to commit suicide rather than move into an elderly home.

(Too) Early Retirement? Germany's Pension Confusion

Germany has decided to boost its mandatory retirement age from 65 to 67. At the same time, many firms are shedding older workers with help from subsidized retirement plans. Is Germany suffering from pension confusion?

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