In 2023, Ukraine was the fastest shrinking country in the world as the Russian invasion is driving its citizens from their homeland in scores. Conflict can be a powerful force in changing a nation’s demographics by creating refugees, but also casualties. Which countries lose population the fastest also tells a story of economic stagnation, isolation and emigration for many, while low birth rates and aging populations play yet another role in driving down the number of residents in many nations.
Overall, Europe is the only continent losing population, with the number of Europeans shrinking by 0.2% in 2023 opposite 2022. Europe has been losing population since 2021, according to numbers by the United Nations Population Division. Among the 10 fastest shrinking places on Earth are six on the continent: Greece, San Marino and Belarus as well as Balkan nations Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Kosovo. While sinking birth rates and aging populations that enter a demographic downwards spiral play a big role in Europe, emigration from the Balkans has also decimated the size of populations there.
Greece comes third on the list of the world’s fastest shrinking places. At the beginning of 2024, the national statistics agency cautioned that the country could suffer population collapse. The nation of around 10 million people is expected to lose 1 million of them until 2050, which can seriously affect government revenue, the labor market and the functioning of services. In the 10 years between 2011 and 2021, the country’s birth rate fell by a whopping 30%. While overall societal changes have caused birth rates to fall in Europe and beyond, the Greek financial crisis of the 2010s and ensuing austerity measures are believed to have catalyzed this phenomenon in the country by discouraging young people from starting a family or causing them to leave in search of work.
One (or several) such traumatic events can also be identified for other European nations on the list. After the collapse of communism in the early 1990s and bloody wars following, Bosnia, Kosovo and Albania now have some of the biggest diasporas in the world by relative size, showing the high number of people who have left (and continue to leave) the countries and who are changing local age structures profoundly in the process.
Life In The Diaspora
Large diasporas are also a reality for many island nations where the lack of economic opportunity is compounded by isolation. The second fastest shrinking country in the world in 2023 was Tuvalu, where a third factor – climate change – is likely to be making emigration even worse. The country of just around 10,000 people in the Pacific is believed to be one of the first places on Earth to disappear due to a changing climate and rising ocean levels. Its foreign minister in 2021 famously held a speech in thigh-high water to steer attention to the island’s plight, expressing the feeling of desperation many in the region share.
At low population sizes, statistical factors play a role in many small nations appearing among the fastest shrinking countries in the world. However, especially among islands, emigration is exceptionally high beyond numerical effects.
Japan, a famously shrinking nation, is the tenth fastest in losing population globally. Neighboring countries China and South Korea also started shrinking population-wise in recent years, shining a spotlight on the demographic woes of Asia. However, due to highly varying development levels, the continent was still growing at an overall rate of 0.6% in 2023. This was around the same level of growth as that of the Americas, which generally do not have major demographic laggards, but also lack any especially fast growers. Oceania and Africa were still gaining population more strongly in 2023.
Charted by Statista
