2711905727

197

Ruch naturalny ludności Europy

PIOTR EBERHARDT

NEW TRENDS TO THE VITAL STATIST1CS OF THE EUROPEAN POPULATION IN REGARD

TO THEIR GEOGRAPHICAL DIMENSION

The article presents the temporal and spatial conditioning of the vital statistic of population in European countries. It links up with the theory what is known as the second demographic transition, a phenomenon used in explaining the evolution of populational vital statistics in developed countries. Empirical anaiysis commenced with a depiction of the conditions existing in the 19th century. Europe’s population increased dramatically in the century, as a result of high birth rates and a decrease in the mortality ratę, especially among children. Further evolution, taking place in the 20th century, led to a marked decline in the ratę of natural population growth, albeit one that preceeded at varying rates in the different part of the European continent. Until the 1990s, the States in the Eastern and Central part of Europę continued to be characterised by a greater demographic dynamie than those of Western Europę. With a view to portraying ongoing differentiation in the different areas, information was given for five temporal cross-sections (1950, 1960, 1970, 1980 and 1990) for the different countries now members of the European Union, for countries located in Central-Eastern Europę and for the republics located in the European part of what was formerly the Soviet Union. The main part of the article is devoted to the situation that developed between 1990 and 2000. Specifically, the shaping of birth ratę, mortality and natural growth in relation to natural loss in the 15 European Union member States, the 11 States of Central-Eastern Europę and 7 former Soviet republics. The statistical data reveal that long-term trends to vital statistics have changed. Today, the countries located in the Eastern part of Europę differ from those in the Western part in having lower birth rates and higher mortality. The evolution to changes in indicators of population vital statistics are reflected in the State and dynamics of the population. In order to present the scalę of this process in the political units considered, data were related to changes in population size in the period 1990-2000. These shows the onset of the depopulation processes appearing in the eastern part of the European continent.