European Economy Stagnating

Economies have highs and lows. Nations with robust infrastructure and economy sometimes rule the world and sometimes they cease to exist now. Although these might sound like dramatic words, actually there is some stagnation already going on. For as long as we have lived, and even if I take into account some of the seniors we have here, for all our lives, Europe has been the economic powerhouse alongside China and the US. So on one side there were two countries China and the USA and on the other there was a whole continent prospering. So naturally all of this very soon that Europe is the Pinnacle of human civilization and economic maneuverability. Sadly that is changing. I want to talk about the latest downtrends in the European economies and how demographics have played a role in slowing them down. ---  [Source](https://unsplash.com/photos/blue-and-red-cargo-ship-on-dock-during-daytime-SInhLTQouEk) --- So after the second world war most of Europe was devastated. Many countries had to rebuild from scratch. So that was a very tough time for those countries out in Europe. But since then towards the end of the century, Europe has prospered a lot. There has been outstanding economic growth and a general belief and trust in customers that if a certain product was made by some country in Europe then it is of high standard and well-crafted. Such as German and Italian cars. German machinery, Belgian chocolate, Italian fashion items such as handbags and dresses among others. But they are now facing a stagnation in their growth. This is mostly attributed to their aging population. Europe isn't well known for having children and their people are more work oriented. So this workforce is getting old. There is a lack of substitute in children who will take their place. And the European labor laws are quite favorable towards the labor so people are inclined to retire earlier than they normally would because the infrastructure will look after them. This, along with the growing and cheap manufacturing capabilities in Asia, Europe is losing some of their markets. Although they still have a stronghold on cutting edge technologies and craftsmanship. While also rising political standoffs between nations are making trade more difficult. For example, it is more difficult for Germany to source its natural gas which it heavily relies on for production. They imported that fuel from Russia. While in Italy, weak laws push people towards tax evasion so regulating the businesses becomes hard. The biggest issue is the demographic. Nonetheless. Europe is at a huge disproportion of skilled workers and they're actively looking for skilled workers in migrants. But at the same time they are not very friendly towards giving migrants a chance as most of their production requires a lot of teaching and specialization before actually getting into work. As these are high skill level jobs, many are even afraid to apply in these vacant positions, but I sure believe that educated people from countries inside Asia or Sunday capitalize on this opportunity and they will enter the workforce of European factories and maybe it will rejuvenate those companies again and in turn, Europe's economy.