When young people move to bigger towns and cities, the average age of the population in the place they leave behind automatically goes up. A community with a higher proportion of older inhabitants may be less attractive to businesses, which may additionally have difficulty finding suitable staff locally. Other effects of population decline include: fewer schools, due to there being fewer children; a drop in house prices because more homes are unoccupied; fewer new homes being built; less demand for rented accommodation; fewer care facilities; less turnover for shopkeepers and businesses; fewer sports facilities; fewer people going to the theatre, cinema or concerts, so these facilities are eventually cut back; … Continue reading population decline (Government of the Netherlands)