text: These changes give poorer countries a demographic dividend. For several decades the bulk of their population will be of working age, with relatively few dependents, old or young. This should lead to higher per capita incomes and production levels. Nations with low fertility rates, meanwhile, will face major fiscal and political problems. In a pay-as-you-go pension system, for example, there will be fewer workers to finance the pensions of retirees; people will either have to pay more in taxes or work longer.