The OECD Agrees: Support Large Families to Combat Demographic Decline

OECD pushes for coordinated strategies on fertility, migration, and aging to secure future prosperity.

“One of the greatest challenges facing humanity”: this is how the OECD, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, defines the current demographic winter. Between June 29 and July 3, 2025, parliamentarians from OECD member states, meeting in their annual session in Porto, Portugal, developed a series of recommendations to the ministers of OECD member countries. Among the recommendations produced, we highlight one on countering the demographic winter, as the OECD itself now defines the demographic crisis.

In particular, the OECD calls on member states “to address declining birth rates and aging societies, including through the implementation of family-friendly policies, parental leave, early childhood education and care services, financial support, tax breaks, and housing support for families with children, and by encouraging private ownership, while recognizing the diversity of family structures and respecting personal decisions and choices, and by promoting public dialogue that portrays parenthood positively.” The expert committee also urges “OECD participating States to raise awareness of the impact of delayed parenthood on fertility and to support research and development of strategies that enable people to have the desired number of children, and the promotion of policies to support openness to larger families and to raise awareness of the impact of delayed parenthood on fertility”—following the recommendation contained in the Porto Declaration.

RESOLUTION: RESPONDING TO THE DEMOGRAPHIC WINTER

1. Recognizing that demographic change is a transformative shift with far-reaching implications for societies, economies and governance structures affecting social cohesion and stability, labor markets, pension systems, health services and national and regional security,
2. Noting that many countries in the OECD region are experiencing destabilization due to ageing populations, declining birth rates, increasing unplanned involuntary parenthood and, in some cases, an already ongoing demographic decline, leading to a worrying dependency ratio between workers and pensioners that calls for urgent and coordinated policy action,
3. Concerned about the long-term consequences of an ageing population, loneliness, a shrinking workforce and brain drain , including the growing burden on health and pension systems which, if unaddressed, could undermine social stability, economic prosperity and security,
4. Stressing the crucial role of policies that support families, parenthood and maternal and newborn health, ensure sustainable economies and promote intergenerational solidarity in maintaining social cohesion and economic prosperity,
5. Highlighting the importance of developing sustainable policies to respond to population decline that are proactive, comprehensive and long-term, and rooted in evidence-based research to ensure resilient, prosperous and secure societies,
6. Recognizing that a long-term vision is essential, as increases in birth rates take decades to translate into gains in the workforce and to reduce the imbalance caused by population aging,
7. Highlighting the significant demographic challenges in Ukraine, where the Russian Federation’s illegal and brutal aggression has led to increased civilian and soldier mortality, the abduction and deportation of thousands of children and a decline in birth rates, as well as the forced emigration of millions of Ukrainians, with a particular impact on women and children,

The OECD Parliamentary Assembly:

1. Expresses its commitment to prioritise demographic change as a critical policy issue and to work together to implement sustainable solutions that ensure economic prosperity, social cohesion and long-term security across the OECD region;
2. Calls on OECD participating States to address declining birth rates and aging societies, including through the implementation of family-friendly policies, parental leave, early childhood education and care services, financial support, tax breaks, and housing support for families with children, and by encouraging private ownership, while recognizing the diversity of family structures and respecting personal decisions and choices, and by promoting public dialogue that portrays parenthood positively;
3. Urges OECD participating States to raise awareness of the impact of delayed parenthood on fertility and to support research and development of strategies that enable people to have the desired number of children, and the promotion of policies to support openness to larger families and to raise awareness of the impact of delayed parenthood on fertility;
4. Recommends strengthening social and economic structures affected by demographic trends, including the development and implementation of long-term strategies for the sustainability of pension and welfare systems , inter alia to reconcile retirement age with life expectancy, and active ageing policies, including flexible retirement models, lifelong learning opportunities, and support for the continued participation of older people in the workforce and society in an age-appropriate manner;
5. It supports urban and rural development policies that ensure adequate infrastructure and services, thus preventing the depopulation of certain regions, combined, where necessary, with strategic settlement consolidation, and calls for strengthened community engagement policies to improve local cooperation and promote intergenerational solidarity and mutual support between younger and older generations;
6. Calls on OECD participating States to increase support for workforce sustainability, particularly by addressing current and projected labor shortages through strategic planning, skills development, vocational training, and education reform to meet demands in critical professions, while promoting reskilling and upskilling initiatives to adapt the existing workforce to a changing labor market; further encourages the implementation of targeted migration policies aligned with identified labor market gaps, developed taking into account the integration capacity and development needs of countries of origin; and supports investments in technological innovation and automation to improve productivity while developing job opportunities;
7. Urges OECD participating States to recognize the long-term consequences of significant and sustained emigration from regions of origin—many of which are also experiencing rapidly declining birth rates and face greater difficulties than more developed nations in supporting their aging populations—including the loss of skilled workers and innovation (brain drain and loss of manual labor) and the resulting inevitable demographic challenges, which hinder economic and social development; and to engage in cooperative efforts to address the root causes of these challenges in a spirit of solidarity by creating opportunities for young people who wish to stay to build their future locally;
8. Encourages OECD participating countries to strengthen health and social care systems by increasing efficiency and expanding and improving long-term care services for older people, including by ensuring affordability, accessibility, diversity and freedom of choice, and by investing in preventive health care to support healthy ageing, increase longevity and reduce healthcare costs;
9. Calls for more education and training, as well as better conditions for health workers, to address staff shortages and improve the quality of care;
10. Encourages community-based initiatives to address loneliness and social isolation and their negative impacts on physical and mental health, particularly among older people;
11. Calls on OECD participating States to increase efforts to ensure long-term financial stability and economic resilience, including by supporting tax policy reform to respond to demographic challenges while ensuring sustainable economic prosperity, as well as by exploring alternative pension models that combine public and private funding sources to ensure long-term stability, and by promoting financial education to help individuals plan for retirement and their long-term financial security;
12. Stresses the importance of safeguarding regional security and stability and the need to recognize demographic change as a key component of national and international security strategies and to address the potential risks of demographic change, including declining youth populations, youth emigration, brain drain, and rural depopulation, paying particular attention to strengthening democratic participation in depopulated areas, ensuring equitable representation and access to the vote, and promoting immigrant integration, linguistic, and cultural education, to ensure successful economic and social participation;
13. Urges OECD participating States to develop effective strategies to encourage Ukrainian citizens to return home after the war to revitalize their nation and to facilitate post-conflict reconstruction, recognizing that peace is a fundamental prerequisite for political, economic, democratic and demographic stability in Ukraine and the entire region;
14. Supports efforts to enhance research and policy development by promoting and investing in granular micro-demographic research to improve understanding of fertility trends, ageing patterns, and migration dynamics, thereby supporting evidence-based policymaking through improved data collection on demographic trends and related socio-economic factors, as well as by establishing demographic task forces within national governments and international organizations to coordinate responses to demographic change, and by increasing regional cooperation on population policies within the OECD region;
15. Calls on OECD participating States to promote technological and digital innovations, encouraging the use of artificial intelligence and automation to mitigate labour shortages and maintain productivity, and expanding telemedicine and digital health services to improve access to care and to ensure sustainable urban and rural infrastructure in response to demographic changes;
16. It urges OECD participating States to recognize population decline as one of the greatest challenges facing humanity—a challenge that, if left unaddressed, will threaten the vitality and security of nations.