Madrid, Spain, Sep 18, 2008 / 14:17 pm
The president of the Institute for Family Policy in Spain, Eduardo Hertfelder, is warning that Spain has entered “an unprecedented demographic winter” due to the loss of two million young people over the last 20 years.
Despite the more than 730,000 young immigrants that have come to Spain, “the loss of young people has become a social problem in Spain of enormous magnitude,” Hertfelder said. He further added that in 2008, the number of youngsters under the age of 14 has dropped to 6.6 million from 8.5 million two decades ago.
He pointed out that in communities such as Asturias, Galicia, Castilla and Leon, the number of senior citizens is double that of young people. In Murcia, he noted, there are two young people for every eight senior citizens over the age of 65.
“It is obvious that Spain and its autonomous communities are experiencing an unprecedented demographic winter to which officials cannot remain indifferent,” Hertfelder stressed.
After pointing out that Spain is the country with the fastest aging population in the EU, Hertfelder criticized the government for not implementing policies that foster more births and support the family.
“The future of society, no matter which aspect is considered, whether social, economic, etc., is based on young people, and if young people disappear, society disappears. To opt for immigration as a solution to the problem, without resolving the problem of the lack of births, is to not solve the problem,” he said.