Why Emigrating Is Not An Option Despite Germany’s Problems

A fifth of young Germans between the ages of 14 and 29 are seriously considering emigrating from their homeland, according to a recent trend study titled “Youth in Germany 2026”. The reasons cited for this growing willingness to leave the country are diverse but understandable: concerns about the collapse of the pension system, fear of declining economic prospects, and above all, increasing psychological strain fueled by these anxieties about the future.

As Junge Freiheit reports, the impression that government policy in Germany is being conducted entirely at the expense of future taxpayers has only intensified with recent decisions by the federal government. The publication highlights the cynicism with which Friedrich Merz of the CDU, not even officially elected as Chancellor at the time, broke one of his campaign promises just days after the federal election last year. With the help of an already voted-out parliament, he authorized borrowing on a scale unprecedented in German history. Such actions naturally lead young citizens to believe that things might be better and more just elsewhere.

Demographics Strike Everywhere

Yet it remains highly doubtful whether emigration actually represents a good option for most young Germans. The problems afflicting Germany, primarily stemming from the demographic crisis and tense geopolitical situation, are likely to produce similar disruptions in other countries as well.

Germany is not alone in facing severe population aging. The entire West suffers from the same demographic malaise, and global conflict zones are strangling economies not just in the Federal Republic but across the Mediterranean and overseas. While some European states, particularly in Scandinavia, have built their pension systems on economically healthier foundations that are not entirely pay-as-you-go based, even these seemingly attractive destinations face serious challenges.

Birth Rate Time Bomb

Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish women now all average fewer than 1.5 children, a demographic time bomb whose social and economic consequences remain completely unforeseeable, just as in Germany. It can no longer be ruled out that population decline will confront Western states in the near future with political challenges that extend far beyond questions of fair pension policy. Whether a fundamentally more robust pension system alone can make a decisive difference in this entirely new context can hardly be answered seriously at present.

What About America?

The demographic crisis is not the only factor affecting the entire European region. The economic development of the currency zone is anything but stable. The EU Commission recently lowered its growth forecast for the entire European Union. It is therefore unlikely that emigrating within the EU zone can help anyone escape the immediate consequences of Europe’s economic weakness.

The situation looks different across the Atlantic, where the technologically advanced corporate culture of the American states continues to promise robust growth backed by numerous investments, not least from Europe. However, emigrating to the United States is tied to numerous conditions, particularly financial ones, that can normally only be met by highly qualified professionals or successful entrepreneurs. The rate of Germans permanently relocating to the States has been declining since the early 2000s, likely for this reason among others.

Turbulent Times Ahead

As can easily be demonstrated, the entire Western hemisphere offers only limited appeal to German citizens contemplating emigration. The demographic crisis and global conflict zones, with their currently unforeseeable effects on supply chains and trade routes, constitute a predicament that will be very difficult to escape.

Ultimately, however, it must be made clear that remaining in Germany need not and should not be motivated purely by negative factors. While Germany, like the global West in its geographic and sociocultural entirety, certainly faces turbulent times in almost every respect, the Federal Republic’s level of prosperity with its numerous safeguards has consistently been ranked among the world’s best and will remain there for the foreseeable future.

Disillusionment and Overwhelm

This prosperity is primarily thanks to the work of older generations, including the much-maligned Baby Boomers of late. Young Germans would do well to appreciate this inherited wealth along with its cultural achievements, above all the opportunity, nearly free by international standards, to obtain a solid career foundation through academic education at German universities.

Rather than harboring a desire born of understandable but still misguided overwhelm and disillusionment to leave the country, the question of how this inheritance can be preserved for the future should take center stage. That the current government offers few to no approaches in this regard must be named as the primary cause of young people’s concerns.

With information from Junge Freiheit