United Nations Population Division, Replacement Migration 89 10. European Union (a) Past trends The total fertility rate in the 15 countries that presently constitute the European Union was on a rising curve until 1960-65, when it attained 2.69 births per woman. Since 1995, fertility has constantly decreased, falling below the replacement level of two children per woman around 1975. By 1990-95, fertility stood at 1.5 births per woman. Life expectancy at birth, meanwhile, rose from 67.0 years in 1950-1955 to 76.5 years in 1990-1995. As a consequence of these trends, the proportion of the population aged 65 or older rose from 9.5 per cent in 1950 to 15.5 per cent in 1995, and the potential support ratio (the number of persons aged 15-64 for each person aged 65 or older) fell in the same period, from 7.0 to 4.3. (b) Scenario I Scenario I, the medium variant of the United Nations population projections in the 1998 Revision, assumes an average net intake very close to 300,000 migrants per year between 1995-2050, for a total of almost 16.4 migrants during the period. The medium variant projects that the total population of the 15 countries would briefly continue to grow until around 2005, by which time it would attain 376.5 million; from that point, it would start to decline at increasing speed, so that by 2050 some 331.3 million people would remain a loss of 40.6 million persons in relation to 1995 and 45.2 million persons in relation to the projected peak level in 2005 (the results of the 1998 United Nations projections are shown in the annex tables). This loss would be equivalent to the combined present population of the seven smallest members of the European Union: Austria, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Sweden (see table 27). By 2050, the population of the European Union, which in 1995 was some 100 million larger than that of the United States, would be smaller than that of the United States by about 20 million. The population aged 15-64 would first register a slight increase from 249 million in 1995 to less than 252 million in 2005, but it would be followed by an accelerating decline that would bring it down to slightly under 188 million by 2050. The projected decline (61.5 million between 1995 and 2050) would thus reduce the working-age population by one quarter in relation to 1995 levels. On the other hand, the population aged 65 or older would register steady growth, rising from 58 million in 1995 to 96 million in 2050, an increase of approximately 65 per cent. As a result, the potential support ratio would decrease from 4.3 in 1995 to slightly less than 2.0 in 2050. (c) Scenario II Scenario II, which is the medium variant with zero migration, uses the fertility and mortality assumptions of the medium variant of the 1998 Revision, but without any migration to the 15 countries of the European Union after 1995. In this scenario, the total population would start declining after 2000 rather than five years later, and by 2050 it would be down to approximately 311 million, which is 20 million less than in scenario I. The population aged 15-64 would immediately start declining, dropping from 249 million in 1995 to 174 million in 2050. Thus, without migration, the working age population would be cut by 30 per cent rather then by 25 per cent as in scenario I. The population aged 65 or older would increase from 58 million in 1995 to 92 million in 2050, entailing a decline of the potential support ratio to 1.9 in 2050, 0.1 less than that projected in scenario I.
United Nations Population Division, Replacement Migration 90 TABLE 27. POPULATION OF THE MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, 1995 AND 2050, SCENARIO I Population (thousands) Projected change 1995-2050 Member countries as of 2000 1995 2050 (Scenario I) (Thousands) (Percentage) Austria 8 001 7 094 - 907 - 11.3 Belgium 10 088 8 918 - 1 170 - 11.6 Denmark 5 225 4 793 - 567 - 10.9 Finland 5 108 4 898 - 210 - 4.1 France 58 020 59 883 1 863 + 3.2 Germany 81 661 73 303 - 8 358 - 10.2 Greece 10 489 8 233 - 2 256 - 21.5 Ireland 3 609 4 710 1 101 + 30.5 Italy 57 338 41 197 - 16 141 - 28.2 Luxembourg 407 430 23 + 5.7 Netherlands 15 459 14 156 - 1 303 - 8.4 Portugal 9 856 8 137 - 1 719 - 17.4 Spain 39 568 30 226 9 342 - 23.6 Sweden 8 800 8 661 - 139 - 1.6 United Kingdom 58 308 56 667 - 1 641 - 2.8 European Union 371 937 331 307 - 40 630 - 10.9 (d) Scenario III Scenario III keeps the size of the total population constant at its projected peak level of 372 million in 2000 (assuming no in-migration in the period 1995-2000). In order to keep the total population constant at that level, 47.4 million migrants would be necessary between 2000 and 2050, an average of 949,000 migrants per year. By 2050, out of a total population of 372 million, 61.6 million, or 16.5 per cent, would be post-2000 immigrants or their descendants. The potential support ratio in 2050 would be 2.2, which is only 0.2 point higher than in scenario I. (e) Scenario IV Scenario IV keeps the size of the population aged 15-64 constant at its 1995 level of 249 million, which would be the maximum level that it would ever reach in the absence of post-1995 migration. In order to keep the working-age population constant at that level, it would in fact be necessary to have 79.6 million migrants between 1995 and 2050, an average of 1.4 million migrants per year. Owing to irregularities in the age structure of the population, the annual number of migrants required to keep the working-age population constant would first increase rapidly and then decline. It would peak in 2025-2030, with an annual number of net migrants in excess of 2.8 million. By 2050, out of a total population of 418.5 million, post-1995 immigrants and their descendants would be 107.7 million, or 25.7 per cent. The potential support ratio in 2050 according to this scenario would be significantly higher than in scenario I, (2.4 as opposed to 2.0), but the difference is modest compared to the magnitude of the drop from the level of 4.3 in 1995. (f) Scenario V Scenario V does not allow the potential support ratio to decrease below the value of 3.0. In order to achieve this, no immigrants would be needed until 2015, and 153.6 million immigrants would be needed between 2015 and 2040, an average of 6.1 million per year during that period. By 2050, out of a total population of 520 million, 209 million, or 40 per cent, would be post-1995 immigrants or their descendants.
United Nations Population Division, Replacement Migration 91(g) Scenario VI Scenario VI keeps the potential support ratio at its 1995 value of 4.3 persons aged 15-64 for each person aged 65 or older. In order to keep the potential support ratio constant at that level, the European Union would need 701 million immigrants from 1995 to 2050, an average of 12.7 million per year. Also, as under scenario IV, the irregularities in the age structure of the population would cause fluctuations in the annual number of migrants required to keep the potential support ratio constant. The peak levels would be attained in 2030-2035, with 20.3 million net immigrants per year. By 2050, out of a total population of 1.2 billion, 918 million, or about 75 per cent, would be post-1995 immigrants or their descendants. (h) Additional considerations According to recent national estimates, the European Union had an average annual net migration of 857,000 persons from 1990 to 1998. Thus, the number of migrants needed to prevent a decline in the total population is roughly comparable to the level of migration in the 1990s. However, in order to prevent a decline in the working-age population, the annual number of migrants would need to nearly double in relation to recent experience. Figure 26 shows, for scenarios I, II, III and IV, the population of the European Union in 2050, indicating the share that is made up of post-1995 migrants and their descendants. The annual number of migrants necessary to keep the potential support ratio constant at its 1995 level would be 15 times greater than the net migration level in the 1990s. Towards the end of the period, i.e. by 2040-2050, the net annual number of migrants required by the European Union would be equivalent to half the world's annual population growth. Thus, if replacement migration were to be used as the mechanism for shoring up the potential support ratio in the European Union at its present level, by 2050 the total population of the European Union would have grown to more than three times its present level. In this process, the European Union's share of world population would have more than doubled, from 6.6 per cent in 1995 to 13.8 per cent 2050. In addition, three quarters of the total population in 2050 would consist of post-1995 migrants from outside the present boundaries of the Union and their descendants. In the absence of migration, the calculations in this report indicate that the upper limit of the working age would need to be raised to 71.3 years to obtain a potential support ratio of 3.0 in 2050, and to about 76 years in order to obtain in 2050 the same potential support ratio observed in 1995 in the European Union, which was 4.3 persons of working age per older person.
United Nations Population Division, Replacement Migration 92 TABLE 28. POPULATION INDICATORS FOR THE EUROPEAN UNION BY PERIOD FOR EACH SCENARIO Scenario I II III IV V VI * Period Medium variant Medium variant with zero migration Constant total population Constant age group 15-64 Ratio 15-64/65+ not less than 3.0 Constant ratio 15-64/65 years or older A. Average annual number of migrants (thousands) 1995-2000 574 0 0 46 0 5 302 2000-2025 330 0 612 1 380 1 793 8 556 2025-2050 210 0 1 287 1 795 4 352 18 404 2000-2050 270 0 949 1 588 3 073 13 480 1995-2050 297 0 863 1 447 2 794 12 736 B. Total number of migrants (thousands) 1995-2000 2 870 0 0 230 0 26 510 2000-2025 8 239 0 15 290 34 502 44 837 213 911 2025-2050 5 250 0 32 166 44 874 108 808 460 088 2000-2050 13 489 0 47 456 79 375 153 646 673 999 1995-2050 16 361 0 47 456 79 605 153 646 700 506 C. Total population (thousands) 1950 296 151 - - - - - 1975 349 313 - - - - - 1995 371 937 - - - - - 2000 375 276 372 440 372 440 372 680 372 440 400 089 2025 367 342 354 500 372 440 394 551 401 916 641 056 2050 331 307 310 839 372 440 418 509 519 965 1 228 341 D. Age group 0-14 (thousands) 1950 72 524 - - - - - 1975 82 958 - - - - - 1995 64 740 - - - - - 2000 62 380 61 879 61 879 61 941 61 879 69 006 2025 52 926 50 320 54 641 60 204 62 805 116 157 2050 47 856 44 130 57 445 65 846 86 786 237 981 E. Age group 15-64 (thousands) 1950 195 578 - - - - - 1975 220 708 - - - - - 1995 249 382 - - - - - 2000 251 299 249 213 249 213 249 382 249 213 268 773 2025 230 090 221 083 233 826 249 382 254 334 426 112 2050 187 851 174 470 216 929 249 382 325 575 803 974 F. Age group 65+ (thousands) 1950 28 049 - - - - - 1975 45 647 - - - - - 1995 57 815 - - - - - 2000 61 596 61 349 61 349 61 357 61 349 62 310 2025 84 326 83 096 83 973 84 964 84 778 98 786 2050 95 600 92 240 98 067 103 280 107 603 186 386 G. Potential support ratio 15-64/65+ 1950 6.97 - - - - - 1975 4.84 - - - - - 1995 4.31 - - - - - 2000 4.08 4.06 4.06 4.06 4.06 4.31 2025 2.73 2.66 2.78 2.94 3.00 4.31 2050 1.96 1.89 2.21 2.41 3.03 4.31 * Scenario VI is considered to be demographically unrealistic.
United Nations Population Division, Replacement Migration 93Figure 26. Population of the European Union in 2050, indicating those who are post-1995 migrants and their descendants, by scenario 0 50 100150200 250 300350400450I. Medium variant II. Zero migration III. Constant totalpopulationIV. Constantworking ageScenarioPopulation (millions)Migrants plusdescendantsPopulationwithoutmigration after1995
United Nations Population Division, Replacement Migration 94 EUROPEAN UNION Figure 27. Age-sex structures by scenario for 2000, 2025 and 2050 (Population in millions) Medium variant Constant total population Age 2000 2025 2050 Population without migration after 1995 Migrants plus descendants 50 40 30 20 10 10 20 30 40 500 10 20 30 40 50 6070 80 90 100Males Females050 40 30 20 10 10 20 30 40 500 10 20 30 40 50 6070 80 90 100Mal esFemale050 40 30 20 10 10 20 30 40 500 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100Mal es F e male050 40 30 20 10 10 20 30 40 500 10 20 30 40 50 6070 80 90 100Mal es F e mal050 40 30 20 10 10 20 30 40 500 10 20 30 40 50 6070 80 90 100Males Female050 40 30 20 10 10 20 30 40 500 10 20 30 40 50 6070 80 90 100Males Females0
United Nations Population Division, Replacement Migration 95 EUROPEAN UNION Figure 27 (continued) Constant Constant ratio age group 15-64 15-64/65 years or older Age 2000 2025 ` 2050 50 40 30 20 10 10 20 30 40 500 10 20 30 40 50 6070 80 90 100Females Mal es 050 40 30 20 10 10 20 30 40 500 10 20 30 40 50 6070 80 90 100Females Mal es050 40 30 20 10 10 20 30 40 500 10 20 30 40 50 6070 80 90 100Females Mal es050 40 30 20 10 10 20 30 40 500 10 20 30 40 50 6070 80 90 100Males Females050 40 30 20 10 10 20 30 40 500 10 20 30 40 50 6070 80 90 100MalesFemales050 40 30 20 10 10 20 30 40 500 10 20 30 40 50 6070 80 90 100Males Females0