Comparative Demographics of France and Germany

France may be economically down at the moment compared with Germany, but Germany's demographic outlook is not good, as this article makes clear. If present trends continue, Germany's population will age rapidly, and its dependency ratio will increase sharply. Of course, immigration, boosted by the crisis, may ameliorate the picture somewhat. But the demographic outlook is one factor contributing to the high German savings rate, which in turn contributes to structural imbalances in the eurozone. It is important to keep this in mind.