Europe’s population shrinking despite immigration

Branislav Bleha of the Human Geography and Demography Department at Comenius University in Bratislava points out that despite immigration, the population of Europe will drop by almost 100 million by 2100, while another expert notes that Slovakia will record among the most rapid levels of ageing. This was reported in the Hospodárske Noviny daily on Tuesday. The tipping point has already been reached. While there were still more births than deaths in Europe in 2014, last year saw the scales tip over to the side of deaths. Slovakia still managed to record population growth in 2015, but Bleha noted that it will lose tens of thousands of people per year in the future. "This decrease will start in ten years and will keep on growing," he added. Meanwhile, Slovakia will find itself among the countries with the most intensive levels of ageing in Europe, said demography expert Boris Vano. "Ageing in Slovakia won't stop earlier than in 2060," he noted, adding that by then the average age of Slovaks will be ten years higher than it is now.