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By APD writer Aditya Nugraha
EDINBURGH, Oct. 21 (APD) Scotland is facing population problem as number of pensioners may rise 23.2 percent to more than 240,000 by 2043 as people in productive ages may dive down by 7,000 by that time, according a data released by a Scotland record agency.
Number of deaths could overweigh births over the next 25 years, may eventually risk Scotland’s provision of working ages in the future, the data said.
In an anticipating move, Scottish government has called for immigration powers to secure public services in the future.
"This is why Scotland needs inward migration to support our public services and economy, particularly in sectors like tourism, hospitality, construction and agriculture, but also to enrich and diversify our society," Scotland's culture secretary Fiona Hyslop said.
Scotland's population is predicted to slowly increase, largely due to migration, by 2.5 percent in the next quarter of a century, up to 5.57 million.
Estimation has it that if migration from the European Union (UI) drops by 50 percent, population growth is expected to slow to just 1 percent in the next 25 years.
The Scottish government recently set up a ministerial taskforce to look at Scotland's future population challenges and develop new solutions to address demographic changes. Its assignment also includes efforts to support rural settlement and grow the working age population.
According to the latest projections, the United Kingdom (UK) population as a whole will grow at a faster rate than Scotland, growing 9.0 percent to reach 72.4 million by mid-2043.
If these changes happened, Scotland's share of the UK population could fall from 8.2 percent to 7.7 percent by mid-2043, the projection said.
(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)
