At the very heart of a changing society lies the number and composition of its members. Population growth has shaped the EU over recent decades and now its population is ageing. The slow-moving shift towards longer-living, lower-fertility, higher-educated societies brings the EU to new demographic frontiers, as it does in North America and East Asia. Facing these developments naturally prompts the

questions: Who will live and work in Europe in the coming decades? How many, and with what skills? To answer these, we consider key factors that will influence European demographics over the coming decades. To move beyond some common misconceptions, this report brings relevant scientific analyses to the forefront by presenting a series of demographic scenarios for the future of the EU. By examining not only the role of migration, fertility and mortality, but also education and labour force participation, we can outline a more comprehensive view of possible futures than conventional demographic projections. While some of the scenarios indicate probable developments, others are hypothetical and meant to be instructive for understanding the full spectrum of possible futures. The value of these scenarios is to improve our ability to anticipate the coming changes and to guide our responses to them.