Five Facts and Trends We're Watching in 2026
Care, the future of work and AI, and other themes we’re keeping an eye on in the new year
Area of Expertise
Aging & Depopulation
The aging, shrinking future is here—but most societies aren’t ready to meet the moment.
Identifying Keys To Resilience
We help decisionmakers find opportunity in the face of population decline.
Why It Matters
Longer lives are a global success story. But they also bring new challenges: fewer working-age adults to support older generations, rising health and caregiving needs, and mounting pressure on social protection systems. In countries where both birth rates and populations are decreasing, these shifts raise tough questions about economic growth and how communities sustain themselves over time. That’s where PRB comes in.
How We Drive Change
The overarching goal of this work is to identify the keys to resilience in the face of population decline, whether through adapting the future of work, supporting care economies, or sustaining quality of life with a shrinking tax base. Our work includes:
- Analyzing trends in birth rates, life expectancy, and migration to show how populations are changing in size and age.
- Looking ahead by turning demographic data into forecasts that guide planning for health, care, and economic systems.
- Equipping journalists, advocates, and decisionmakers with training and data visualizations to turn complex numbers into clearer narratives and smarter solutions.
- Hosting public events and engaging with the media to combat misinformation and fear around population trends and guide the public discourse toward resilient, people-centered responses.
Raising visibility of how aging and shrinking populations affect equity, gender, and opportunity in policy debates in the United States and worldwide.
Latest News & Insights
We, the (Fewer) People!
The consequences of demographic change as a “megatrend” of our time are not a far destiny anymore but more and more felt in our direct living environment: within families, neighborhoods, municipalities, and regions.
People @ PRB: Introducing Apoorva Jadhav, Our New Senior Fellow
As our new Senior Fellow, Dr. Jadhav will help PRB explore the global shift to lower fertility—and the implications for health, well-being, and rights.
Data Collection and Access, Cognitive Health, Fertility Plans, Aging, and Family Instability Highlighted at the 2025 PAA Conference
The conference offered researchers and practitioners a platform to discuss new work in 272 sessions and hundreds of poster presentations.
Older Americans With Dementia Are More Likely to Suffer a Debilitating Fall. Targeted Interventions Could Help.
In an aging country, understanding fall risk and supporting caregivers with evidence-based strategies to mitigate it are increasingly urgent.
What we should talk about when we talk about healthy population aging
One question I didn’t get to answer at AARP’s 2025 Global Thought Leadership Conference
Latest Resources
From Boom to Imbalance: How Population Change Is Straining Public Pension Systems in the United States
Population Bulletin vol. 79, no. 1
As Dementia Rises, More Older Americans Are Getting Care at Home. It's Not Without Challenges.
Families face the financial burden of paying out-of-pocket for care not covered by Medicare and Medicaid and the emotional toll of day-to-day caregiving.
7 Trends Reshaping the Health and Lifespans of America’s Rapidly Aging Population
Experts point to key dynamics challenging policymakers, health care planners, and families
New Data Reveal Appalachia’s Economic Improvements, Key Vulnerabilities Compared to the Rest of the U.S. Economy
Report from ARC and PRB finds decreased unemployment, increased labor force participation, and higher homeownership in Appalachia—but the Region still lags behind the U.S.
Fact Sheet: Trends in Family Care for Older Americans
In the United States, over 24 million people provide unpaid care for older adults—a 32% increase from a decade ago.
Webinar: The Pros and Cons of Virtual vs. In-Person Interaction for Older Adults
Researchers discussed how social media and new technologies may enhance—or limit—social connectedness and emotional well-being among older adults.
Projects
Translates cutting-edge research on aging and health into findings that guide health policy and long-term care planning. Our publications and visualizations on life expectancy, dementia, and other health trends among older Americans have informed leaders from Congress to national agencies and the National Council on Aging, and have been featured in outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Guardian.
PRB’s briefs on multiage communities and walkable streets guide how communities support older adults while fostering connections across generations. PRB leaders have also contributed to AARP’s Global Thought Leadership Conference, elevating demographic data in global conversations on aging. Together, this work helps ensure policies create healthier, safer, and more inclusive communities for all ages.
Convenes global experts to explore forward-looking responses to low fertility, aging, and shrinking populations. These conversations give policymakers, advocates, journalists, and researchers vital insights and new perspectives on how societies can adapt to smaller workforces, changing family structures, and greater caregiving needs.
A new cross-Atlantic dialogue on the challenges of aging and population decline. By connecting insights across regions, PRB and Population Europe are working to help governments anticipate change, design responsive policies, and build stronger societies.