Baltics lead EU demographic crisis

BRUSSELS -- Recent statistics from eurostat, the EU's official statistics agency, have found that the Baltic States -- particularly Latvia -- are at the forefront of Europe's well documented demographic crisis.

The report found that Latvia suffers both the lowest fertility rate in the EU and has the second lowest life expectency, after Bulgaria.

Latvia's fertility rate is just 1.31 children per woman. All three Baltic states came in below the replacement rate of 2.1, with Lithuania at 1.55 and Estonia at 1.62 children per woman.

Latvia's life expectency at birth, meanwhile, is 78.1 years, more than four full years below the EU average of 82.4. Lithuania did not fare much better at 78.7, while the life expectency in Estonia was registeres at 80.2.

Interestingly, Latvia also registered the second highest number of foreign citizens living in the country, after Luxembourg. Estonia has the third highest number of foreign citizens.

The report, released on April 1, measured demographics in 2009 and 2010 in all 27 EU member states. A full version of the report can be found here.