Fastest-Shrinking Nations Are All in One Part of World

Eastern Europe, with Bulgaria in the No. 1 spot
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 24, 2018 10:45 AM CST
The World's 5 Fastest- Shrinking Nations
Populations are declining in this part of the world.   (Getty Images/Juanmonino)

The number of people living in Bulgaria is expected to drop by nearly a quarter by the year 2050—and its neighbors aren't going to fare much better demographically, per UN population projections cited by Quartz. Over the next 30-plus years, Bulgaria will see its population fall from around 7 million to about 5.4 million, a 23% drop. Other Eastern European countries will see similar declines, with all of the nations that top the UN's list experiencing decreases of at least 15% in the same time period. What one researcher says is to blame: residents migrating to other countries, high death rates, and lower fertility rates. Specifics on the five nations at the top of list follow.

Here, the five countries expected to see the biggest drop, along with their corresponding percentage changes:

  1. Bulgaria, -23%
  2. Latvia, -22%
  3. Moldova, -19%
  4. Ukraine, -18%
  5. Croatia, -17%
See what other countries ended up on the list, or check out the 10 fastest-growing cities in America. (More Eastern Europe stories.)

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