Rising awareness of the aging population in countries around the world and its impact on postsecondary: Opinion

Postsecondary leaders are becoming increasingly aware of the “cliff edge” that is the aging population, writes Nick Cuthbert. Cuthbert writes that this “cliff” impacts both the number of domestic students and the number of international students available to fill the growing gap. The author discusses the threats posed by a shrinking market and highlights the impact this is expected to have in countries such as China, Japan, the UK, the US, Italy, and South Korea Some, such as China, face a drop in population at the same time that the economy needs more workers; others, such as the United States, face demographic shifts and changes. In the United Kingdom, which is facing a population decline, higher education saw more students returning to study during the pandemic as well as a rise in the number of non-EU students.