NET MIGRATION AND NATURAL CHANGE MAIN FACTORS FOR DECREASING POPULATION

Population is nowadays seriously affected by to two distinct factors: natural change (the difference between the number of births and the number of deaths) and net migration (the difference between immigration and emigration). In the 1960s the overwhelming share of EU 27 population growth could be attributed to natural change, as the number of births considerably outweighed the number of deaths. However, the relatively high fertility rates that were experienced in the post-war decades slowly came to an end, life expectancy increased – and by the end of the 1990s the number of births and deaths were almost balanced. According to the European Commission through Eurostat immigration policy has the potential to play an important role in filling labour market shortages, although the integration of immigrants may pose a challenge to social cohesion. Some countries, like Romania are severely affected by migration, as mainly young people leave Romania in order to find better jobs in the western European countries.