New Demographic Faces of Europe

Frontmatter

1. Current Demographic Trends in Austria

Abstract

Austria’s population surpassed the 8 million mark at the end of 1993. High net migration together with an increase in the number of births during the years 1991 through 1994 contributed to the pronounced growth of the Austrian population in the early 1990s. But the new laws on immigration and a reduction in the number of births led to a slowdown in population growth since 1993: from 0.7% in 1993 to 0.2% in 1996.

Isabella Buber, Alexia Prskawetz

2. Demographic Development of the Republic Belarus

Abstract

The Republic Belarus is one of the 15 new independent states that have emerged as a result of the disintegration of the former Soviet Union. On 27 July 1990, the Supreme Soviet of Belarus adopted the Declaration of Independence, which was granted the status of the state law a year later. The territory of Belarus is of a compact size — 207.6 thousand square kilometres. According to the 1999 census, the population of Belarus is 10.037 million people. By the absolute size of the population, Belarus occupies the fifth position after Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The absolute size of the population of Belarus is 14 times smaller than the population of Russia, 5 times smaller than Ukraine’s population but 1.3 times larger than population of the all three independent Baltic States (Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia) combined.

Liudmila P. Shakhotska

3. Population Development in Bulgaria

Abstract

In 1962, Bulgaria celebrated the birth of its eight millionth inhabitant. I remember that it was a boy, born in the countryside. His parents got presents and their names were in the newspapers. But how was it possible to trace that he was exactly the eight millionth person? The answer is obvious — with very crude approximation. This baby was selected by chance. A case was created to celebrate a growing population in conditions of victorious socialism. In 1985, the population reached 8.5 million, but there were no celebrations. They were postponed for the 9 millionth person. Some were impatient waiting for the appearance of the 10 millionth Bulgarian citizen. After the population reached its maximum of 8,992 thousand in 1989, one would expect that the 9 million mark would be reached in 1990, but by then nobody was thinking of such solemnities. Instead, in the 1990s the demographic change has been often described as a “catastrophe”.

Dimiter Philipov

4. Population Development in the Czech Republic in the 1990s

Abstract

In January 1993, the Czech Republic has started its independent existence after the dissolution of the Czechoslovakia. Since the beginning of the 1990s, the population of the Czech Republic has been experiencing a new phase of development: a completely new tendencies in demographic behaviour of the Czech population have appeared.

Miroslava Mašková, Leona Stašová

5. A Review of Some Current Danish Population Trends

Abstract

Before reviewing the Danish population trends and prospects, we consider briefly some issues of the institutional, political and economic background of the current population development.

Hans Oluf Hansen

6. Demographic Development of Estonian Population: Recent Changes in the Context of the Long-term Trends

Abstract

Estonia, the northernmost of the three Baltic countries, has an area of 45,215 square kilometres and a population of 1,565.7 thousand (census 1989) (EKDK, 1996–1999). Estonian people have lived on the present territory for more than 5,000 years, so Estonia may be considered one of the oldest nations in Europe in that respect. At the beginning of the 13th century, the country lost its independence after twenty years of fighting against combined attacks by Germans, Danes, Swedes, and Russians. Since then, Estonia began to serve as a dividing line between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox worlds, a division, which has maintained its importance until today. Although the geopolitical dividing line was moved westwards due to the victory of Russia in the Northern War (1700–1721), the Baltic provinces secured substantial autonomy under the Russian Empire.

Kalev Katus, Luule Sakkeus, Allan Puur, Asta Põldma

7. The Current Demographic Shape of Germany: Similarities and Differences in Eastern and Western Population Processes

Abstract

The far-reaching political changes in Central and Eastern Europe in the early 1990s brought forth a reunified Germany with unique demographic characteristics: two significantly different populations of 63.3 million in the former Federal Republic of Germany (“West Germany”) and 16.1 million in the former German Democratic Republic (“East Germany”) were melted together. A main consequence of this development is a dichotomy in Germany’s new population structure, which continues to prevent demographic analysis on an aggregate basis. For this reason, demographic phenomena are generally reported and analysed mainly separately for West and East Germany in this contribution.

Eberhard Schaich, Jochen Fleischhacker

8. Demographic Situation and Population Policies in Hungary

Abstract

The Hungarian population development can be examined from two basic perspectives. The first, and the most important, frame for analysis is the theory of demographic transitions. It is well known that the first transition from the agrarian population to the industrial one, and the second transition, which characterises the post-industrial populations, are core processes of the 20th century. Transition from high to low fertility and mortality along with the significant population growth and the ageing process are the most important characteristics of population development.

László Hablicsek

9. Population Development in Latvia

Abstract

Latvia has experienced an unusual pattern of population development. The demographic transition in the Baltic provinces of Russia began earlier than in other parts of tsarist Russia. Here, the demographic trends have been historically West-European rather than East-European. A notable decrease of fertility, including marital fertility, as well as of the natural growth of population, began in the last third of the 19th century. Since the middle of the 1920s, fertility has been under replacement level.

Atis Berzins, Peteris Zvidrins

10. Recent Population Development in Lithuania

Abstract

In Lithuania, like in the other East and Central European countries, the demographic development during the last ten years has been highly specific. The fundamental trends of demographic processes, which have many similarities in their features and trajectories of change, are quite diverse in the intensity of their manifestation. However, Lithuania noticeably stands out from the post-communist countries with similar recent demographic trends, by the most insignificant degree of its demographic changes.

Vlada Stankuniene

11. Past and Present Population Development in the Republic of Moldova

Abstract

The Republic of Moldova — the second smallest country among the republics of the former USSR — is situated in the south of Eastern Europe, between Romania and Ukraine. Located in the area surrounded by deltas of Nistru, Prut and Danube rivers, it has experienced frequent changes in borders and territory size. Moldova was part of the Russian Empire until 1918, then it declared independence and united with Romania. The newly formed Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics refused to recognise this unification and in 1924 established Moldavian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (MASSR) by partitioning the ethnically mixed part of Ukraine located by the Nistru river, although the share of Moldovan population in this region was only 30% (O’Loughlin et al., 1998). During the Second World War, in August 1940, the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic was established in its present borders. Later, the territory was annexed by Romania and then again by the USSR at the end of the Second World War. During the post-war period an intense Russification of Moldavan society took place. Russian language was introduced into everyday life and the Cyrillic alphabet replaced traditional Latin alphabet in Moldavan language, which is similar to Romanian language.

Maria Bulgaru, Oleg Bulgaru, Tomáš Sobotka, Kryštof Zeman

12. Population Development in Poland

Abstract

Since the early 1990, Poland, similarly to other Eastern and Central European countries, has experienced a rapid transformation in population development, which resulted first of all in the declining propensity to marry, declining fertility with increasing proportion of extramarital births, very slowly decreasing mortality and strongly increasing volume of international migration. The crucial changes in the demographic phenomena have been occurring in the course of the social and economic transformation of society accompanied by high unemployment and growing poverty among selected groups of population. Hence, it may be argued that the changes in demographic behaviour have been also inspired by major socio-economic pressures as well as by the present level of material well-being.

Petra Vojtěchovská

13. Recent Demographic Development in Romania

Abstract

Romania represents one of the middle-range European countries, both concerning its geographical surface (237.5 thousand square kilometres) and its number of inhabitants (22,581,862 people on 1 January 1997). Since 1990, similarly to the other countries of Eastern and Central Europe, Romania has been going through a transition from an authoritarian communist regime to a democratic society. It has been a period of large socio-economic changes, with definite consequences for a demographic development. The liberalisation of abortion and of the use of contraceptives, dismantling of the legal barriers for emigration and mobility within the country, the introduction of easier divorce procedures are only several of the factors with direct and immediate influence over the demographic phenomena. To all these should be added the profound changes in the way people live as a result of acquired access to Western mass culture and more and more frequent contacts with people of other countries.

Cornelia Mureşan, Traian Rotariu

14. Demographic Situation and Mortality Trends in Russia

Abstract

During transition from totalitarian socialist system to democratic system with a market economy Russia has experienced dramatic transformations in its demographic development. In the period 1991–1998, the population of the country declined by more than 1.4 million people (Figure 14.1). Natural increase since 1992 has been negative and during the last few years oscillated around 705 thousand. Due to positive annual net migration, which since 1992 has been about 5 million, the total population size of Russia has been decreasing not as rapid as it could have been otherwise (Figure 14.2).

Serguey Ivanov, Vladimir Echenique

15. The Current Trends of Population Development in the Slovak Republic

Abstract

After the Second World War, the population development in Slovakia has witnessed two major periods, characterised by different patterns of demographic behaviour, on the one hand, and by different social, economic and cultural conditions largely shaped by the predominant political system, on the other. The first one fell on the second half of the 1960s, when the significant differences in the demographic phenomena between Western and Eastern Europe — especially between the democratic and totalitarian communist societies — became apparent. The second period has started in the early 1990s, demonstrating how fast the population development may “respond” to the radical political and economic changes in society.

Boris Vaňo

16. Recent Demographic Developments in Slovenia

Abstract

Slovenia lies on the edges of Central, Eastern and Southern Europe, where Romanic, Germanic, Slavonic and Ungaro-Finnish language groups meet. It covers 20,273 square kilometres and has nearly 2 million inhabitants.

Milivoja Šircelj

17. Demographic Situation in Ukraine in the Transition Period

Abstract

Ukraine belongs to the group of the largest countries of Europe in terms of land area (603.7 thousand kilometres) and size of population (50.1 million); 67.9% of the Ukrainian population lives in urban settlements. At the beginning of 1998, 2,346.5 thousand people lived in the territories polluted by radiation as a result of the Chernobyl disaster. Ukraine is a multinational country. According to the last population census (1989), Ukrainians make up 72.7%, Russians — 22.1%, Jews — 0.9%, Belarus — 0.9%, and other nationalities — 3.4% (SSCU, 1999a).

Valentyna Steshenko

18. Changes in Fertility and Mortality in the Czech Republic: An Attempt of Regional Demographic Analysis

Abstract

During the current decade the debate concerning commonalties and variations in population development has been thrust into the national and international arenas. Of those interested in diversity among the populations, most have concentrated on cross-national comparisons, but only little attention has been given to sub-national characteristics of population, i.e. those observed at the level of a country’s regions and districts. This can be attributed to, first of all, the seemingly insignificant (or hidden) differentiation of demographic patterns observed across the country, as compared to more obvious general population trends and dynamics. Second, it can be at least in part explained by the shortage of comprehensive cross-regional data, especially in the countries where the population registers have not been introduced.

Boris Burcin, Tomáš Kučera

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