Arresting the Decline in the Population of Estonia

While the world’s population has been increasing at an alarming rate, the population of Estonia has been declining. There was a population decrease of 0.3% in 2014. This number alone is not troubling until one observes that it is becoming a trend in the country’s history. As at 1st January 2014, the population of Estonia was estimated to be 1,315,819 which is 4,355 persons less than the year before. In the year 2013, the number of births was less than the number of birth by 1,700. If this trend continues, it could result in serious challenges for the country.

Identifying the Causes

The first cause would be natural decrease. The number of deaths in Estonia has been exceeding the birth rates since 90s. This is the immediate cause that must be addressed. Also, the number of people leaving Estonia has been more than those migrating into it. The natural decrease and emigration both results in a net decrease in the population of Estonia yearly.

Possible Implications

Statistics have demonstrated that Estonia’s working-age population is declining. One major implication of this is brain drain. Brain drain refers to a situation where the most skilled labor leaves a country in search of greener pastures. Brain drain is mostly associated with places like Africa where many professionals leave for more advanced countries to the detriment of their home land. This results in a situation where the labor force is saturated with unskilled labor due to the exodus of the skilled one to developed countries.  

Conclusion

In conclusion, labor migration is not proven yet to have a negative effect on the economy of Estonia. On the contrary, labor migration seems to be partly responsible for improved standard of living for those who decide to stay behind. Fortunes can easily change however if the rates increase anymore than it presently is. The immigration laws could be reviewed to arrest this by allowing more foreigners to come in to replace those who leave. Government should also encourage the people to have more children so as to solve the situation for the long term once and for all.