Special report | The demographic challenge
Parts of Germany are desperate for more people
Coping with ageing and shrinking populations is hardest in the east
ON THE FACE of it there is little to separate the two towns. Cloppenburg, near the Dutch border, and Hoyerswerda, 40km from Poland, each has a population of 30,000-40,000. Both, say local officials, offer respite from the strains of urban life: cheap housing and plenty of kindergarten places, the shortage of which is a huge source of stress for metropolitan parents. Neither is near a big city; both offer visitors a friendly, somewhat sedate, face.
This article appeared in the Special report section of the print edition under the headline “Desperately seeking people”
From the September 25th 2021 edition
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