World's Fastest-Shrinking Countries

Bloomberg

No. 8 Lithuania

2010 Population: 3,317,000
Forecast 2050 Population: 2,721,000
Percent Decrease: 18 percent
2010 Population over age 65: 16 percent
Fertility Rate: 1.5
Net Migration Rate: -5

Since it renewed its independence in 1990, Lithuania has lost population. A striking excess of people has been leaving the country: Workers began migrating to Russia and Ukraine, then shifted in the late 1990s to Western Europe and North America. Following admission to the European Union in 2004, more Lithuanians emigrated to the U.K., Ireland, and Sweden, according to focus Migration, an information service about immigration.

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