the number of children below 15 will decrease from the current figure of 15 million to only 9 million in 2035
at the same time the workforce is expected to increase from the 41 million currently employed to 43 million in 2015
but then fall to less than 38 million by 2035
the dependency rate between working people and the elderly will undergo drastic changes
in 1970,12 people took care of one elderly citizen
but by 2035 there could be just two working people bearing the tax burden for each elderly person
although demographers have been wrong before
it would be irresponsible to ignore the weight of evidence supporting their findings
there is a crunch coming and our social security system
subsidised health care programmes and pension and saving schemes face collapse under such a strain
this is where long-term government planning is needed
and it will have to go far beyond the usual fiscal stimulus safety valves
populist handouts and knee jerk measure
out best economic mind should be pooling their talent to create the firm foundation necessary for what promises to be a grey tinged future