Countries of old men?

On behalf of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation Riga, Zane Varpina examined the demographic development in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania and identified transnational trends as well as significant differences in demographic developments.

Latvia and Lithuania are among the fastest-aging societies in Europe. Declining birth rates, no immigration and in particular the emigration of younger, well-educated people lead to a sharp decline and a large aging population. These demographic trends will continue to accelerate in the coming decades. Estonia, on the other hand, has recently seen a slightly positive population increase.

The study discusses which measures are promising to tackle the challenges of demographic change and asks to what extent the political steering of migration could gain relevance in the future. At the same time, the study discusses the influence of social aging processes on regional labor markets, social security systems and the education system in the individual Baltic States.