Germany's population is expected to decline from 83.5 million in 2025 to around 81.8 million by 2045, according to a new study from the Berlin Institute for Population and Development ( Berlin-Institut für Bevölkerung und Entwicklung ), in collaboration with the Wüstenrot Foundation , a nonprofit that supports research on housing, urban development and social change.

The decline in population alone is not the central challenge. More significant is the continuing rise in the number of retirees alongside a steadily shrinking workforce. Across Germany, the working-age population is projected to decrease by 4.7% by 2045.

"The baby boomer generation is retiring, while significantly smaller cohorts are following. Birth rates are falling, and immigration is not sufficient to offset the growing surplus of deaths over births," said institute President Catherina Hinz when presenting the study in Berlin.

The term "baby boomers" refers to those born in the 1960s, when annual births exceeded 1 million.…