Subreport 1: Geographical Characteristics of Demographic Change – Population and Employment Potential

Serving as underpinnings of an investigation of the economic effects that demographic change has at a regional level, this subreport analyses the geographical characteristics of this change, identifying the factors actively influencing it. It found that rising life expectancy, reduced fertility and increased migration have a massive, yet regionally highly differentiated impact on the dynamics and structure of the population. Up to 2030, the labour pool will shrink in all the Länder with the exception of Vienna, most strongly in the south and south-east of Austria. Within the regions it will become obvious who will be "winners" and "losers" of the demographic change. Altogether, the demographic challenge is all too real yet can be controlled in its scale provided that consistent measures are taken to counteract possible negative economic effects.