Eurostat : EU population shrinks for second year in a row amid coronavirus
Eurostat said that in addition to the covid-19 pandemic, the aging of the population and the low birth rate also affected the size of the Eu population.
it expects that the number of deaths in the EU will continue to exceed the number of newborns in the coming years, and that “the future increase or decrease in the Eu’s overall population is likely to depend largely on the extent to which net migration contributes”.
eurostat said on the 11th that as of January 1 this year, the total population of the European union was about 446.8 million, compared with about 447 million in the same period last year.
This is the second consecutive year of population decline in the Eu, mainly due to the covid-19 pandemic.
according to data published on the eurostat website, the total population of the eu’s 27 member states fell by almost 172,000 in 2021 as net migration and the number of new births failed to offset the number of deaths.
The data also show that since January 2020, the eu population has decreased by more than 656,000.
“in 2020 and 2021, the number of net migrations that (previously) played a positive role will no longer be able to offset negative natural changes, leading to a decline in the total eu population,” eurostat said. ”
the agency believes that the main reason for the change in the number of people in the eu is the covid-19 pandemic.
in fact, the number of deaths in the eu exceeded the newborn population for about 10 years, but the influx of migrants offset this gap until the covid-19 outbreak in 2020.
