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The European Union’s population has declined for the second year in a row, following last year, Brock’s Census Bureau said Monday, as the region recovers from more than two million deaths from the coronavirus.
According to Eurostat, the population of the 27 countries that make up the block has decreased by nearly 172,000 from the previous year and by more than 656,000 from January 2020.
“In 2020 and 2021, positive net migration no longer compensates for the negative natural changes in the EU, and as a result, the EU’s total population is declining,” he said, pointing out the impact of the pandemic.
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Deaths began to exceed births in the EU 10 years ago, but immigrants from outside the block helped fill the gap to the first year of the pandemic.
The EU’s last record of population decline was in 2011, the only time since 1960, but it has recovered rapidly due to net migration.
Given the pandemic, aging population and relatively low fertility rates, Eurostat said deaths should continue to exceed births over the next few years.
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“If this is the case, the EU’s overall population decline or future growth is likely to depend heavily on the contributions of net immigrants,” he said.
Italy, Poland and Romania recorded the largest population declines, but more than half of EU member states saw population growth, especially in France, the Netherlands and Sweden.
Eurostat counted 446.8 million people living in the EU in January 2022.