Eurostat: Baltic population to plummet

  • 2008-08-28
  • By Talis Saule Archdeacon
RIGA 's Theresults of a recent survey by Eurostat suggest that the population of the Baltic states will drop by as much as 25 percent by 2060 if nothing isdone to stymie the trend. 

The report, released on Aug. 28, predicted that by 2060 thepopulation of Estonia,Latvia and Lithuania will fall by 15.4 percent, 25.9 percent and 24.3 percent, respectively.

Eurostat said that the population of the entire EU 's currentlyat 495 million 's would increase to 521 million by 2035 and then gradually dropto 508 million by 2060.

Moreover, the report found that all 27 EU member states arelikely to see a significantly older population, suggesting that as much as 30percent of the population would be over 65 by 2060.

"The EU27 populationis projected to become older throughout the projection period, due inparticular to persistently low fertility and an increasing number of survivorsto higher ages. This ageing process would occur in all Member States," thereport said.

Only Bulgaria is expected to see a larger population drop than Latvia and Lithuania by 2060. Estonia,meanwhile, ranks fifth on the list of worst affected countries, closelyfollowing Romania.

Cyprus, Ireland andLuxemburg are set to see the largest population increase over the same timeperiod, at 66.2 percent, 52.9 percent and 51.7 percent, respectively.