In the Cook Islands in 2024, the population decreased by about 2.24 percent compared to the previous year, making it the country with the highest population decline rate in 2024. Of the 20 countries with the highest rate of population decline, the majority are island nations, where emigration rates are high (especially to Australia, New Zealand, and the United States), or they are located in Eastern Europe, which suffers from a combination of high emigration rates and low birth rates.

This statistic shows the 20 countries with the highest population growth rate in 2024. In SouthSudan, the population grew by about 4.65 percent compared to the previous year, making it the country with the highest population growth rate in 2024. The global population Today, the global population amounts to around 7 billion people, i.e. the total number of living humans on Earth. More than half of the global population is living in Asia, while one quarter of the global population resides in Africa. High fertility rates in Africa and Asia, a decline in the mortality rates and an increase in the median age of the world population all contribute to the global population growth. Statistics show that the global population is subject to increase by almost 4 billion people by 2100. The global population growth is a direct result of people living longer because of better living conditions and a healthier nutrition. Three out of five of the most populous countries in the world are located in Asia. Ultimately the highest population growth rate is also found there, the country with the highest population growth rate is Syria. This could be due to a low infant mortality rate in Syria or the ever -expanding tourism sector.

Historical chart and dataset showing Japan population growth rate by year from 1961 to 2023.

Between 2018 and 2023, the Maldives had the highest average annual population growth rate across the Asia-Pacific region, 2.9 percent. In contrast, Taiwan's population experienced a negative growth of 0.2 percent during this period.

The European countries which saw the greatest population growth in 2025 were Gibraltar, Kosovo and Iceland. Overall, Europe's population declined by 3.3 percent in 2025, with this varying by region from a 0.19 percent decline in northern Europe to 4.6 percent in southern Europe. All the countries which saw the largest declines in their population in 2025 were central and eastern European countries.

• The current US Census Bureau world population estimate in June 2019 shows that the current global population is 7,577,130,400 people on Earth, which far exceeds the world population of 7.2 billion in 2015. Our estimate based on UN data shows the world's population surpassing 7.7 billion.
• China is the most populous country in the world with a population exceeding 1.4 billion. It is one of just two countries with a population of more than 1 billion, with India being the second. As of 2018, India has a population of over 1.355 billion people, and its population growth is expected to continue through at least 2050. By the year 2030, India is expected to become the most populous country in the world. This is because India’s population will grow, while China is projected to see a loss in population.
• The following 11 countries that are the most populous in the world each have populations exceeding 100 million. These include the United States, Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Russia, Mexico, Japan, Ethiopia, and the Philippines. Of these nations, all are expected to continue to grow except Russia and Japan, which will see their populations drop by 2030 before falling again significantly by 2050.
• Many other nations have populations of at least one million, while there are also countries that have just thousands. The smallest population in the world can be found in Vatican City, where only 801 people reside.
• In 2018, the world’s population growth rate was 1.12%. Every five years since the 1970s, the population growth rate has continued to fall. The world’s population is expected to continue to grow larger but at a much slower pace. By 2030, the population will exceed 8 billion. In 2040, this number will grow to more than 9 billion. In 2055, the number will rise to over 10 billion, and another billion people won’t be added until near the end of the century. The current annual population growth estimates from the United Nations are in the millions - estimating that over 80 million new lives are added yearly.
• This population growth will be significantly impacted by nine specific countries which are situated to contribute to the population growth more quickly than other nations. These nations include the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, and the United States of America. Particularly of interest, India is on track to overtake China's position as the most populous country by 2030. Additionally, multiple nations within Africa are expected to double their populations before fertility rates begin to slow entirely.

Content

• In this Dataset, we have Historical Population data for every Country/Territory in the world by different parameters like Area Size of the Country/Territory, Name of the Continent, Name of the Capital, Density, Population Growth Rate, Ranking based on Population, World Population Percentage, etc. >Dataset Glossary (Column-Wise):
• Rank: Rank by Population.
• CCA3: 3 Digit Country/Territories Code.
• Country/Territories: Name of the Country/Territories.
• Capital: Name of the Capital.
• Continent: Name of the Continent.
• 2022 Population: Population of the Country/Territories in the year 2022.
• 2020 Population: Population of the Country/Territories in the year 2020.
• 2015 Population: Population of the Country/Territories in the year 2015.
• 2010 Population: Population of the Country/Territories in the year 2010.
• 2000 Population: Population of the Country/Territories in the year 2000.
• 1990 Population: Population of the Country/Territories in the year 1990.
• 1980 Population: Population of the Country/Territories in the year 1980.
• 1970 Population: Population of the Country/Territories in the year 1970.
• Area (km²): Area size of the Country/Territories in square kilometers.
• Density (per km²): Population Density per square kilometer.
• Growth Rate: Population Growth Rate by Country/Territories.
• World Population Percentage: The population percentage by each Country/Territories.

The population of Europe was estimated to be 745 million in 2024, an increase of around 4 million when compared with 2012. Over 35 years between 1950 and 1985, the population of Europe grew by approximately 157.8 million. But 35 years after 1985 it was estimated to have only increased by around 38.7 million. Since the 1960s, population growth in Europe has fallen quite significantly and was even negative during the mid-1990s. While population growth has increased slightly since the low of -0.07 percent in 1998, the growth rate for 2020 was just 0.04 percent. Which European country has the biggest population? As of 2024, the population of Russia was estimated to be approximately 144.8 million and was by far Europe's largest country in terms of population, with Turkey being the second-largest at over 87 million. While these two countries both have territory in Europe, however, they are both only partially in Europe, with the majority of their landmasses being in Asia. In terms of countries wholly located on the European continent, Germany had the highest population at 84.5 million, and was followed by the United Kingdom and France at 69.1 million and 66.5 million respectively. Characteristics of Europe's population There are approximately 384.6 million females in Europe, compared with 359.5 million males, a difference of around 25 million. In 1950, however, the male population has grown faster than the female one, with the male population growing by 104.7 million, and the female one by 93.6 million. As of 2024, the single year of age with the highest population was 37, at 10.6 million, while in the same year there were estimated to be around 136 thousand people aged 100 or over.

As of 2023, the total population of Africa was over 1.48 billion. The number of inhabitants on the continent increased annually from 2000 onwards. In comparison, the total population was around 831 million in 2000. According to forecasts, Africa will experience impressive population growth in the coming years and would nearly reach the Asian population by 2100. Over 200 million people in Nigeria Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa. In 2023, the country’s population exceeded 223 million people. Ethiopia followed with a population of around 127 million, while Egypt ranked third, accounting for approximately 113 million individuals. Other leading African countries in terms of population were the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, South Africa, and Kenya. Additionally, Niger, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Chad recorded the highest population growth rate on the continent in 2023, with the number of residents rising by over 3.08 percent compared to the previous year. On the other hand, the populations of Tunisia and Eswatini registered a growth rate below 0.85 percent, while for Mauritius and Seychelles, it was negative. Drivers for population growth Several factors have driven Africa’s population growth. For instance, the annual number of births on the continent has risen constantly over the years, jumping from nearly 32 million in 2000 to almost 46 million in 2023. Moreover, despite the constant decline in the number of births per woman, the continent’s fertility rate has remained considerably above the global average. Each woman in Africa had an average of over four children throughout her reproductive years as of 2021, compared to a world rate of around two births per woman. At the same time, improved health and living conditions contributed to decreasing mortality rate and increasing life expectancy in recent years, driving population growth.

Population dynamics, its types. Population migration (external, internal), factors determining it, main trends. Impact of migration on population health.

Under the guidance of Moldoev M.I. Sir By Riya Patil and Rutuja Sonar

Abstract

Population dynamics influence development and vice versa, at various scale levels: global, continental/world-regional, national, regional, and local. Debates on how population growth affects development and how development affects population growth have already been subject of intensive debate and controversy since the late 18th century, and this debate is still ongoing. While these two debates initially focused mainly on natural population growth, the impact of migration on both population dynamics and development is also increasingly recognized. While world population will continue growing throughout the 21st century, there are substantial and growing contrasts between and within world-regions in the pace and nature of that growth, including some countries where population is stagnating or even shrinking. Because of these growing contrasts, population dynamics and their interrelationships with development have quite different governance implications in different parts of the world.

1. Population Dynamics

Population dynamics refers to the changes in population size, structure, and distribution over time. These changes are influenced by four main processes:

Birth rate (natality)

Death rate (mortality)

Immigration (inflow of people)

Emigration (outflow of people)

Types of Population Dynamics

Natural population change: Based on birth and death rates.

Migration-based change: Caused by people moving in or out of a region.

Demographic transition: A model that explains changes in population growth as societies industrialize.

Population distribution: Changes in where people live (urban vs rural).

2. Population Migration

Migration refers to the movement of people from one location to another, often across political or geographical boundaries.

Types of Migration

External migration (international):

Movement between countries.

Examples: Refugee relocation, labor migration, education.

Internal migration:

Movement within the same country or region.

Examples: Rural-to-urban migration, inter-state migration.

3. Factors Determining Migration

Migration is influenced by push and pull factors:

Push factors (reasons to leave a place):

Unemployment

Conflict or war

Natural disasters

Poverty

Lack of services or opportunities

Pull factors (reasons to move to a place):

Better job prospects

Safety and security

Higher standard of living

Education and healthcare access

Family reunification

4. Main Trends in Migration

Urbanization: Mass movement to cities for work and better services.

Global labor migration: Movement from developing to developed countries.

Refugee and asylum seeker flows: Due to conflict or persecution.

Circular migration: Repeated movement between two or more locations.

Brain drain/gain: Movement of skilled labor away from (or toward) a country.

5. Impact of Migration on Population Health

Positive Impacts:

Access to better healthcare (for migrants moving to better systems).

Skills and knowledge exchange among health professionals.

Remittances improving healthcare affordability in home countries.

Negative Impacts:

Migrants’ health risks: Increased exposure to stress, poor living conditions, and occupational hazards.

Spread of infectious diseases: Especially when health screening is lacking.

Strain on health services: In receiving areas, especially with sudden or large influxes.

Mental health challenges: Due to cultural dislocation, discrimination, or trauma.

Population dynamics is one of the fundamental areas of ecology, forming both the basis for the study of more complex communities and of many applied questions. Understanding population dynamics is the key to understanding the relative importance of competition for resources and predation in structuring ecological communities, which is a central question in ecology.

Population dynamics plays a central role in many approaches to preserving biodiversity, which until now have been primarily focused on a single species approach. The calculation of the intrinsic growth rate of a species from a life table is often the central piece of conservation plans. Similarly, management of natural resources, such as fisheries, depends on population dynamics as a way to determine appropriate management actions.

Population dynamics can be characterized by a nonlinear system of difference or differential equations between the birth sizes of consecutive periods. In such a nonlinear system, when the feedback elasticity of previous events on current birth size is larger, the more likely the dynamics will be volatile. Depending on the classification criteria of the population, the revealed cyclical behavior has various interpretations. Under different contextual scenarios, Malthusian cycles, Easterlin cycles, predator–prey cycles, dynastic cycles, and capitalist–laborer cycles have been introduced and analyzed

Generally, population dynamics is a nonlinear stochastic process. Nonlinearities tend to be complicated to deal with, both when we want to do analytic stochastic modelling and when analysing data. The way around the problem is to approximate the nonlinear model with a linear one, for which the mathematical and statistical theories are more developed and tractable. Let us assume that the population process is described as:

(1)Nt=f(Nt−1,εt)

where Nt is population density at time t and εt is a series of random variables with identical distributions (mean and variance). Function f specifies how the population density one time step back, plus the stochastic environment εt, is mapped into the current time step. Let us assume that the (deterministic) stationary (equilibrium) value of the population is N* and that ε has mean ε*. The linear approximation of Eq. (1) close to N* is then:

(2)xt=axt−1+bϕt

where xt=Nt−N*, a=f

f(N*,ε*)/f

N, b=ff(N*,ε*)/fε, and ϕt=εt−ε*

The term population refers to the members of a single species that can interact with each other. Thus, the fish in a lake, or the moose on an island, are clear examples of a population. In other cases, such as trees in a forest, it may not be nearly so clear what a population is, but the concept of population is still very useful.

Population dynamics is essentially the study of the changes in the numbers through time of a single species. This is clearly a case where a quantitative description is essential, since the numbers of individuals in the population will be counted. One could begin by looking at a series of measurements of the numbers of particular species through time. However, it would still be necessary to decide which changes in numbers through time are significant, and how to determine what causes the changes in numbers. Thus, it is more sensible to begin with models that relate changes in population numbers through time to underlying assumptions. The models will provide indications of what features of changes in numbers are important and what measurements are critical to make, and they will help determine what the cause of changes in population levels might be.

To understand the dynamics of biological populations, the study starts with the simplest possibility and determines what the dynamics of the population would be in that case. Then, deviations in observed populations from the predictions of that simplest case would provide information about the kinds of forces shaping the dynamics of populations. Therefore, in describing the dynamics in this simplest case it is essential to be explicit and clear about the assumptions made. It would not be argued that the idealized population described here would ever be found, but that focusing on the idealized population would provide insight into real populations, just as the study of Newtonian mechanics provides understanding of more realistic situations in physics.

Population migration

The vast majority of people continue to live in the countries where they were born —only one in 30 are migrants.

In most discussions on migration, the starting point is usually numbers. Understanding changes in scale, emerging trends, and shifting demographics related to global social and economic transformations, such as migration, help us make sense of the changing world we live in and plan for the future. The current global estimate is that there were around 281 million international migrants in the world in 2020, which equates to 3.6 percent of the global population.

Overall, the estimated number of international migrants has increased over the past five decades. The total estimated 281 million people living in a country other than their countries of birth in 2020 was 128 million more than in 1990 and over three times the estimated number in 1970.

There is currently a larger number of male than female international migrants worldwide and the growing gender gap has increased over the past 20 years. In 2000, the male to female split was 50.6 to 49.4 per cent (or 88 million male migrants and 86 million female migrants). In 2020 the split was 51.9 to 48.1 per cent, with 146 million male migrants and 135 million female migrants. The share of

In 2024, the average number of children born per 1,000 people in China ranged at ****. The birth rate has dropped considerably since 2016, and the number of births fell below the number of deaths in 2022 for the first time in decades, leading to a negative population growth rate. Recent development of the birth rate Similar to most East-Asian countries and territories, demographics in China today are characterized by a very low fertility rate. As low fertility in the long-term limits economic growth and leads to heavy strains on the pension and health systems, the Chinese government decided to support childbirth by gradually relaxing strict birth control measures, that had been in place for three decades. However, the effect of this policy change was considerably smaller than expected. The birth rate increased from **** births per 1,000 inhabitants in 2010 to ***** births in 2012 and remained on a higher level for a couple of years, but then dropped again to a new low in 2018. This illustrates that other factors constrain the number of births today. These factors are most probably similar to those experienced in other developed countries as well: women preferring career opportunities over maternity, high costs for bringing up children, and changed social norms, to name only the most important ones. Future demographic prospects Between 2020 and 2023, the birth rate in China dropped to formerly unknown lows, most probably influenced by the coronavirus pandemic. As all COVID-19 restrictions were lifted by the end of 2022, births figures showed a catch-up effect in 2024. However, the scope of the rebound might be limited. A population breakdown by five-year age groups indicates that the drop in the number of births is also related to a shrinking number of people with child-bearing age. The age groups between 15 and 29 years today are considerably smaller than those between 30 and 44, leaving less space for the birth rate to increase. This effect is exacerbated by a considerable gender gap within younger age groups in China, with the number of females being much lower than that of males.

Whereas the population is expected to decrease somewhat until 2100 in Asia, Europe, and South America, it is predicted to grow significantly in Africa. While there were 1.5 billion inhabitants on the continent at the beginning of 2024, the number of inhabitants is expected to reach 3.8 billion by 2100. In total, the global population is expected to reach nearly 10.4 billion by 2100. Worldwide population In the United States, the total population is expected to steadily increase over the next couple of years. In 2024, Asia held over half of the global population and is expected to have the highest number of people living in urban areas in 2050. Asia is home to the two most populous countries, India and China, both with a population of over one billion people. However, the small country of Monaco had the highest population density worldwide in 2021. Effects of overpopulation Alongside the growing worldwide population, there are negative effects of overpopulation. The increasing population puts a higher pressure on existing resources and contributes to pollution. As the population grows, the demand for food grows, which requires more water, which in turn takes away from the freshwater available. Concurrently, food needs to be transported through different mechanisms, which contributes to air pollution. Not every resource is renewable, meaning the world is using up limited resources that will eventually run out. Furthermore, more species will become extinct which harms the ecosystem and food chain. Overpopulation was considered to be one of the most important environmental issues worldwide in 2020.

The average for 2022 based on 195 countries was 18.38 births per 1000 people. The highest value was in Niger: 45.03 births per 1000 people and the lowest value was in Hong Kong: 4.4 births per 1000 people. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The DACH region refers to the Central European area of Germany (D), Austria (A), and Switzerland (CH). In 2024, these countries had a combined population of ****** million people. Germany is, by far, the largest of the three countries, with a population of more than ***** million; almost ten times larger than those of Austria or Switzerland. Growth rates However, population growth across the region has been relatively slow during the past two decades, with Germany's population growing by fewer than two million since 2000, which is an increase of just two percent. In contrast, Austria's population has grown by roughly 12 percent, while Switzerland's has increased by over 20 percent, but the overall change in the DACH region's population is less than five percent due to the disproportionate amount of people in Germany. Migration The reason for low population growth is due to the historically low birth rates in Germany. Since 1972, Germany's death rate has consistently exceeded its birth rate, giving an overall natural decline. Austria and Switzerland have also experienced similar trends in some years, but generally see a natural increase. Because of this, population growth is often dependent on migration. The most significant rise in the DACH area's population came in around 2015, during the Syrian migrant crisis. In Europe, Germany took in the largest number of Syrian refugees during this period, while Austria had one of the highest acceptance rates in proportion to its population. This is in addition to the relatively high number of refugees Germany and Austria accept from other countries, especially Afghanistan. Not all migrants are refugees, however, as the high living standards in all three countries attract large numbers of economic migrants from the rest of the world, especially Southern and Eastern Europe.

Shown are country names and codes (see also Fig. 1), population density (PD) rank, population growth rate (PGR) rank, governance quality (GOV) rank, Gross National Income (GNI) rank, natural forest loss (NFL) rank, natural habitat conversion (HBC) rank, marine captures (MC) rank, fertilizer use (FER) rank, water pollution (WTP) rank, proportion of threatened species (PTHR) rank, and carbon emissions (CO2) rank. Constituent variables used to create the pENV are in boldface. See text for details. Missing values denoted by ‘-’.

Comparative performance analysis of GFSI and its determinates scores/ranks with population growth rate.

In 2023, the annual population growth of Singapore was the highest among other Asia-Pacific countries, valuing to almost **** percent. In comparison, in the same year the population of Sri Lanka experienced a negative growth of ***** percent.

According to latest figures, the Chinese population decreased by 1.39 million to around 1.408 billion people in 2024. After decades of rapid growth, China arrived at the turning point of its demographic development in 2022, which was earlier than expected. The annual population decrease is estimated to remain at moderate levels until around 2030 but to accelerate thereafter. Population development in China China had for a long time been the country with the largest population worldwide, but according to UN estimates, it has been overtaken by India in 2023. As the population in India is still growing, the country is very likely to remain being home of the largest population on earth in the near future. Due to several mechanisms put into place by the Chinese government as well as changing circumstances in the working and social environment of the Chinese people, population growth has subsided over the past decades, displaying an annual population growth rate of -0.1 percent in 2024. Nevertheless, compared to the world population in total, China held a share of about 17 percent of the overall global population in 2024. China's aging population In terms of demographic developments, the birth control efforts of the Chinese government had considerable effects on the demographic pyramid in China. Upon closer examination of the age distribution, a clear trend of an aging population becomes visible. In order to curb the negative effects of an aging population, the Chinese government abolished the one-child policy in 2015, which had been in effect since 1979, and introduced a three-child policy in May 2021. However, many Chinese parents nowadays are reluctant to have a second or third child, as is the case in most of the developed countries in the world. The number of births in China varied in the years following the abolishment of the one-child policy, but did not increase considerably. Among the reasons most prominent for parents not having more children are the rising living costs and costs for child care, growing work pressure, a growing trend towards self-realization and individualism, and changing social behaviors.

System estimation by country equation.

PART I: Distribution table: Interval Frequency Cumulative Frequency Percentage distribution Cumulative percentage distribution 10-12 2 2 13.33 13.33 12.1-14 5 7 33.33 46.66 14.1-16 8 15 53.33 99.99 16.1-18 0 15 0 99.99

18.1 0 15 0 99.99

Majority of the countries, eight, fall in the 14.1-16 category. Five countries fall in the 12.1-14 category and two countries in the 10-12 bin. The remaining categories have zero entries. This means the data does not follow a normal distribution since most of the countries are concentrated at the highest peak. This data could be better visualized in a histogram.

Frequency distribution with revised interval: Interval Frequency Cumulative Frequency Percentage Frequency Cumulative percentage <12 2 2 13.33 13.33 12-12.9 1 3 6.67 20 13-13.9 4 7 26.67 46.67 14-14.9 4 11 26.67 73.34 15-15.9 3 14 20 93.34 16-16.9 1 15 6.67 100.01 17-17.9 0 15 0 100.01

18 0 15 0 100.01 Eight countries have between 14% and 18% of their population above age 65. The number of countries with 14% - 18% of their population above 65 years remain the same even after revising the interval. The percentage of countries that have between 14-18 percent of their population above age 65 is 53.33%.

PART II Q1. Time series chart for divorce rate in Netherlands

Q2. Describe divorce rate in Netherlands before and after 1970. There is a decline in divorce rate between 1950 and 1960. There is a moderate rise in divorce rate between 1960 and 1970, the rate steadily rises between 1970 and 1980 and thereafter exhibits a slight decline between 1980 and 1990. The rate shifts to a declining trend after the year 2000. The decline does not indicate negative number of divorces, this could be attributed to increased population size and fewer number of divorce cases filed. Q3. A bar graph would best display the divorce rate for each year, hence easy comparison. Q4. Bar graph The highest number of divorce cases were recorded in the year 2000, while the least number was observed in 1960.

Set 2: Show how different elements contributed to population change in 2018

Immigration contributed 34 percent of the change in population; births, Emigration, and deaths contributed almost equal change in population.

Q2. Elements of population growth

Immigration contributed the largest change in population growth compared to birth.

Q3. A time series to show changes in male and female population

Both populations show an increasing trend over the 4 years. We could also conclude there are more females than males in the country’s population.

Since 1991, the governments of 15 countries, formerly integrated into a unified cultural, economic, social, and legal framework within the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, have sequentially decided to secede from the union and build sovereign nation-states with independent foreign and domestic policies. The dataset has been compiled with the aim of studying the demographic policies of post-Soviet countries, including the Russian Federation, Republic of Kazakhstan, Republic of Belarus, Kyrgyz Republic, and Republic of Estonia. For consistency in comparison, demographic statistics were obtained from a single source: the non-profit, non-governmental resource “Database.earth,” which bases its data on the report titled “2024 Revision of World Population Prospects” prepared by the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations.The files include two tables (with corresponding charts): 1. The natural increase rate in the studied countries over the period from 1990 to 2024. 2. Urban-rural population ratio in the studied countries as of 2024. The natural increase rate is a standardized indicator that allows comparisons between different states regardless of their size or level of economic development. Private trends for individual states. 1. The Russian Federation. After a stable period of positive growth in the late 1980s, the country faced a deep crisis in the first half of the 1990s (-5.7% in 1995). By the beginning of the 21st century, dynamics stabilized, but the overall trend remains negative. Attempts to restore fertility led to temporary improvement in 2015 (+0.3%). 2. Republic of Kazakhstan. The country maintained a positive growth dynamic almost throughout the observation period. The highest peak of growth falls on the early 2010s (13.6% in 2010, 15.2% in 2015), demonstrating high rates of population reproduction. However, by the end of the observed period (2024), there is also a gradual slowdown in growth noted. 3. Republic of Belarus. The situation in Belarus is characterized by alternating positive and negative phases. The beginning of the 1990s was marked by a significant drop, followed by a weak recovery period. Nevertheless, the general tendency is towards maintaining low levels of growth, transitioning into an insignificant minus by the 2020s. 4. Kyrgyz Republic. The only country showing sustained positive values of growth over the entire study period. Although some reduction in positive figures has been observed, nevertheless, it maintains relatively high rates of natural increase (approximately +15-18%). 5. Estonian Republic. This country stands out with the strongest volatility among the reviewed states. Except for one year (2010), natural growth remained consistently negative. The significant fall was observed in the mid-1990s and continued through the first decades of the 21st century.