We've reported about the demographic crisis in Greece before. (Low birthrates, high rates of immigration, little assimilation, declining overall population etc). But the population 'problem' is not unique to Greece, and Europe will be a whole different continent in just a few decades.
A great report in the NY times goes into detail how Europe's demographics have changed over the past several years.
While the situation in Greece is not rosy, look at some other alarming statistics:
- Latvia's population has fallen by 13% since 1989.
- Bulgaria's population will fall to 5 million (from just about 8 million now) by 2050.
- Germany is now losing nearly 100,000 of its population every year due to a higher death rate than birth rate
- Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania, Russia, and Estonia will see their populations plummet in the coming years.
Overall, Europe's population currently makes up 7.2% of the worlds population and is slated to drop to only 5% by 2050.
DF: Is it too late to implement a family incentive to have more children? Or will 'ethnic Greeks' become a thing of the past?
NYT (lengthy article)
posted on Tuesday, July 1