Gen Z protests: Do Baby Boomers really have it better than young people?

Young people across Germany and Europe are taking to the streets, voicing fears of a bleak future. But is that really the case? Does Gen Z face greater challenges than Baby Boomers did in the 1990s? What do the two generations have in common, and where do their experiences differ?

"Of course, it's fair to ask, 'Were things just as tough for you back then?'" youth researcher Simon Schnetzer tells DW. "But young people see that things are difficult for them now, and say that's why they need support today."

Schnetzer, who wrote the annual Youth in Germany study, highlights one key question raised by the recent demonstrations across Europe as: "Have we given young people the conditions they need to live and work here with confidence, and to keep this system funded?" His straightforward answer is no.

Pension Crisis

The facts point to a clear trend: Fewer and fewer young people are having to support an ever-growing number of retirees. According to Germany's public pension insurance system, there were 3.73 contributors for every retiree in 1957. By 2025, that figure had fallen to just 2.1. By 2045, this number is projected to drop to just 1.73 contributors per retiree.

In absolute terms, this means 35.35 million contributors will be financing pensions for 16.82 million retirees. To cushion this trend and keep contribution rates stable, the pension system already receives around €118 billion [$131 billion] in annual government subsidies—roughly 25% of the federal budget.

There are also signs that many people's pensions are already falling short. The number of retirees relying on federal basic income support has risen from 257,000 in 2003 to 738,000 in 2024.

Housing Challenges

Rising rents hit low-income households particularly hard. According to a report by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), the share of income spent on rent by low-income households rose from around 24% in 1990 to nearly 36% in 2021.

In 2021, the lowest-income households spent an average of 14 percentage points more of their income on rent than high-income households. In 2025, an average of 11% of the population spent more than 40% of their disposable income on housing costs. Among people at risk of poverty, the figure was as high as 35%.

However, Boomers could help ease pressure on the housing market in coming years. They currently own around 4.8 million owner-occupied houses and apartments. Over the coming decades, these properties are expected to change hands, potentially leading to an oversupply and lower prices in some regions.

Education Investment

Public spending on education for people under 30 has doubled since 2011, rising from around €4,000 to approximately €8,000 per person annually. Despite this increase, Germany ranks only in the middle of the pack internationally, with public education spending accounting for 4.6% of GDP in 2022, compared with an OECD average of 4.7%.

The additional funding cannot solve the problem of teacher shortages. Germany will be short of around 27,000 teachers by 2035, mainly due to Baby Boomer retirements and declining birth rates contributing to a shortage of young teachers.

Climate Impact

Back in 1972, the Club of Rome warned of global warming consequences in its publication The Limits to Growth. According to the United Nations, the planet is on track for 2.6°C of warming by the end of the century compared with pre-industrial levels.

If current climate policies continue, children who are six years old today could experience heat waves two to seven times as often as Boomers did over their lifetimes. The deadly impact is already evident—Germany's Robert Koch Institute reports an estimated 16,000 people died from heat-related causes by mid-2026, with over 14,000 being over 65.

"Gen Z and Baby Boomers are in the same boat. We need to bring them together, because otherwise younger people have no prospects for prosperity, and neither do older generations," Schnetzer concludes. He suggests both generations protest together and follow up with a constructive process to define goals and measures that everyone can support, even if it means making sacrifices.