Europe's shrinking workforce: what the UN projects for 2025 to 2050

Posted on 24 October 2026

Europe is growing older, and the number of people of working age is about to fall faster than it has in decades. Using the United Nations' latest population projections for 36 European countries, we looked at how many people will be aged 20 to 64 in 2050 compared with today, and how much migration changes the picture.

Fertility is the main driver. The median fertility rate across these countries in 2025 is 1.46 children per woman, and 24 of the 36 are below 1.5. The highest is 1.74.