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Knowledge4Policy
Knowledge for policy
Supporting policy with scientific evidence

We mobilise people and resources to create, curate, make sense of and use knowledge to inform policymaking across Europe.

  • Topic / Tool | Last updated: 20 Nov 2025
Demography

Studying how issues of demography have an impact on EU societies, also at the global level.

Migration and Demography

Brief me

Demography page
Demography (@blvdone - stock.adobe)

Demographic trends shape the foundation of our societies, influencing policy decisions across all sectors, from mobility and health to environment and regional policies. Understanding fertility, mortality, and migration patterns is crucial for designing effective public policies that respond to the evolving needs of a population.  

The Knowledge Centre on Migration and Demography offers policymakers a set of comprehensive resources for informed decision-making:

  • policy briefs, reports and scientific papers
  • data and stories in the online platform 'Atlas of Demography'. This includes statistics and projections from Eurostat and new data produced by the Joint Research Centre

Our work includes:

  • Innovative population modelling and projections
  • Statistics and visualisations  
  • Analysis of present and future demographic changes, their determinants and their impacts at spatial level 

Explore our publications 

 

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Healthcare workforce demand and supply in the EU27

Europe has been witnessing an ageing population for several decades. As older individuals typically require more medical care, this demographic trend, combined with improved socio-economic…

Rethinking City Population Growth: How Reclassification Matters

City populations grow due to natural change, migration, and areas that are reclassified as part of a city. Because a time series of city boundaries was not available…

Old Age does not start at 65

The old-age dependency ratio (OADR) is a simple measure of population ageing, but it lacks the relative and multidimensional perspectives on ageing, which are central to the transition towards a society…

Low Fertility in the EU: A Review of Trends and Drivers

Fertility levels in EU countries have been low for half a century, below the level of 2.1 children per woman that is generally needed to maintain a stable population, and are…

Demographic projections of long-term care needs in the EU up to

This policy brief draws from the JRC research published in the technical report Demographic microsimulation of long-term care needs in the European Union. It summarises the main results and highlights…

Why global demography is important for EU policies

Insight into the future of the world population is key for policy planning. National statistical offices and international organisations regularly produce population projections employing a variety of methods. Some…

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Latest knowledge

PAGE | 18 Dec 2025
Atlas of Migration
An interactive tool and reference book that provide harmonised and validated data on migration for 198 countries