Southern Europe’s population change

Southern Europe’s population, which has grown steadily since 1950, is projected to peak around 2025 at 158 million and then begin to decline. Researchers estimate it may fall to 136 million by 2050. One factor is the falling birth rate: from an average of 2.6 children in 1950 to 1.4 children in 2000. This plummeting birth rate, however, seems to have been arrested and is now rising again: from 1.4 in 2000 to 2.0 by 2100. So, why the population decline? Because the falling birth rate from 1950 to 2000 caused the overall average aging of the population: people continued to get older, but the population wasn’t being “freshened” by new children. Now, those aging elderly are beginning to die: the death rate per thousand is climbing from its low of 9.2 per thousand in 1975 to 10.9 by 2025 and 13.8 by 2050. That will be the likely peak of the death rate, however: by 2100 it will probably fall back again to about 11.7, and population growth will balance out. Migration will help to offset some of the high death rate, although not all.

1. Eastern European population decline
2. 2010 Status of Southern Europe
3. Northern Europe’s population growth
4. Southern Baptists in USA
5. 2 major challenges Southern Baptists face in getting churches to engage the unreached

Tagged as: southern-europe