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Post by TsarSamuil on Nov 22, 2010 17:43:06 GMT -5
Scientists Raise Alarm over Apocalyptic Scenario for Bulgarian Ethnicity.
Novinite.com
Society | November 22, 2010, Monday
The Center for Demographic Policy in Sofia has alarmed that by 2050, ethnic Bulgarians would have become a minority in their own country.
Prof. Petar Ivanov from the Center has presented projections that the ethnic Bulgarians might decline to 800 000 in 2050. At the same time, there will be 3.5 million Roma and 1.2 million ethnic Turks in the country, he says as cited by the Trud Daily in an alarmist front page article.
If the current demographic rates are preserved, the Center has estimated that in 2100 there will be only 300 000 ethnic Bulgarians in Bulgaria, 8 million Roma, and 1.5 million ethnic Turks.
The Center for Demographic Policy refers to census statistics from the beginning of the 20th century showing that around 1900 there were 2.9 million ethnic Bulgarians, 800 000 ethnic Turks, and 60 000 ethnic Roma.
At present the ethnic Bulgarians in Bulgaria are estimated at 5 million, the ethnic Turks at around 1 million, and the Roma at 1 million, according to the center.
Trendafil Mitev, a political science professor at the University for National and World Economy in Sofia is cited as saying that the Bulgarian politicians appear to be helpless before the demographic crisis.
According to the dean of the Geography Department at Sofia University Petar Slaveykov, the demographic situation will lead to huge issues in the educational system and the science and creative potential of the country.
The Center uniting scientists, university professors and public figures is working on a strategy to avoid what has been described as a possible demographic catastrophe.
The organization has demanded a special institution to take care of ethnic Bulgarians, warning that at present there are institutions taking care only of the groups classified as ethnic minorities. It has also submitted a letter to Prime Minister Boyko Borisov warning him about the problem.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Nov 23, 2010 10:43:44 GMT -5
Moving this post here instead.
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Putin's Baby Boom Spurs Importers.
themoscowtimes.com
26 October 2010
By Derek Andersen
Thanks to a demographic blip and some help from the state, the birthrate is rising in Russia, and the market for children's products is following suit, with imports playing the dominant role.
The market is growing by 15 percent a year, said Antonina Tsitsulina, president of the Children's Goods Industry Enterprises Association. Imports account for 65 percent of all sales, while the biggest overall segment is clothes and shoes, which make up 44 percent of total sales.
"Russia's positive socio-economic development and its state policy on the family and children are directly reflected in the development of the children's goods market," Tsitsulina said, adding that the market is now worth $14.5 billion.
Tsitsulina's optimism differs radically from demographic discussions of even five years ago, when concerns over the aging population and falling birthrate were so high that they were the main topics addressed in President Vladimir Putin's 2006 state-of-the-nation speech.
There was a demographic spike in the Soviet Union between 1980 and 1987, Tsitsulina said. People born during that time will be at their peak reproductive age between 2007 and 2015, resulting in a growing number of young families.
In 2009, the birthrate in Russia showed a 2.8 percent increase over the previous year, according to the Health and Social Development Ministry, and that trend is continuing. Putin noted in June that the birthrate had risen by 1.3 percent in the first four months of this year alone.
The turnaround has been encouraged by the government's Maternal Capital program, which began at the end of 2006.
Women giving birth to or adopting a second child, if that child is a Russian citizen, are eligible to apply for a one-time payment from the state. The size of the grant was set at 250,000 rubles at the beginning of the program. Due to indexing for inflation, it has grown to 343,278 rubles ($11,400) in 2010.
The average annual income in Russia as of April of this year was about $7,500, according to the State Statistics Service.
In addition to Maternal Capital, the federal and regional governments have for many years given mothers monthly stipends, but they tend to be relatively low.
Maternal Capital money can be put toward housing and education or it can be added to the mother's pension account. Single fathers have also won the right to participate in the program.
The resulting boost to disposable income may explain another phenomenon noted on the market since the beginning of the economic crisis.
"It is a peculiarity of the Russian mentality. Consumers have economized on everything except the children's retail segment," said Ivan Fedyakov, head of INFOLine information agency.
The crisis has even had positive side effects on the children's goods market, Fedyakov said, by allowing children's retailers to expand into commercial premises left vacant by other failed businesses and into regions where they had previously not been present.
The challenge they face now, Fedyakov said, is competition from large discount chains that have entered the promising market.
Russia's largest seller of children's goods is the Detsky Mir chain, which has 130 stores in 68 cities and is owned by Sistema.
While the company did experience a drop in sales during the financial crisis, it saw a 9 percent increase in 2009 and expects a 12 percent increase this year, Detsky Mir public relations director Yelizaveta Totunova said.
"The orientation toward foreign producers is largely connected with the greater functionality of foreign clothing," Totunova said.
Russian industry is beginning to catch up.
"Detsky Mir sells a collection of its own production, under the Futurino brand name. It is a good alternative for price and quality and is in high demand from buyers," Totunova said.
Baby food is another market dominated by foreign companies. Nestle has the biggest presence in Russia, with more than 25 percent of the market.
"The Russian market for baby food is constantly growing," said Denis Voityuk, Nestle regional director for baby food. "That growth did not stop even during the economic crisis because parents do not economize on food for their children and they try to provide them with quality food from well-known producers."
"It is hard to overcome the dominance of global brands in Russia today," said Oleg Ochinsky, chief executive of Nutritek Group, which occupies fifth place among domestic baby food manufacturers. "The buyer's choice is often tied to aggressive promotion more than quality. Global corporations have colossal financial resources."
"Demand is on the rise, as is interest in domestic goods and the low-end segment. The buyer is paying more attention to the quality and affordability of products," he said.
The Votkinsk Factory in the Udmurt region, famous for ballistic missiles and mini-washing machines, also produced the most popular baby carriages during Soviet times. A company spokeswoman said they now almost exclusively sell carriages imported from China, and have concentrated their own manufacturing resources on children's furniture.
"The [children's furniture] market is improving and our assortment is improving as well," said the spokeswoman, who did not identify herself.
Kimberly-Clark opened a $170 million plant in Stupino, outside Moscow, to produce Huggies disposable diapers in June of this year. The American company has been active in Russia since 1996. "[The company] has increased its sales 10 times in 10 years in the region," chief executive Thomas Falk said last summer.
The major competitor for diapers is Pampers, which Procter & Gamble has produced in Russia since 2005.
Alexei Vershinin, a Muscovite father of four, confirmed the market boom, but bemoaned the prices.
"You can get almost everything, from clothes to toys, locally," Vershinin said, "if you have enough money. But prices are several times higher than in the U.S. or Europe, which is why we buy over the Internet. Even with shipping fees, we save a lot."
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Post by TsarSamuil on Jan 14, 2011 12:40:41 GMT -5
Third of Poles don’t want children.
Metro
14.01.2011 15:22
One third of Poles do not plan to have any children at all, shows a report by the Labour Ministry.
The reason why so many Poles decide not to have children are connected to low salaries and unstable labour market, a lack of help from the state and lack of help from a partner in bringing up children and sharing domestic duties.
The report shows that man spend twice less time with children than women (223 minutes a week compared to 403 minutes).
According to the Central Statistical Office, population growth in Poland has been slowing down year by year since 1984. Between 2003 and 2005 more people died in Poland than were born.
Recently the birth rate in Poland increased owing to baby boom generation setting up families. It is estimated that by 2030 the number of Poles will decrease by two million, which will dramatically impair the pension system.
Poland has one of the lowest birth rates in the EU. (mg)
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Post by TsarSamuil on Feb 17, 2011 15:49:44 GMT -5
Meh, how about families with at least 3 children instead of more than 3? Otherwise Muslims will steal the money...
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Russia approves program to fight demographic crisis.
The Russian government has approved a national demographic program for 2011-2015 aimed at maintaining the population at its current level, Health Minister Tatyana Golikova said on Thursday.
Currently, 143.2 million people live in Russia. The program stipulates that between 142 and 143 million people will live in the country by 2016. The program is also aimed at increasing the expected lifespan to 70 years, as well as boosting the birth rate.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Thursday instructed the government to consider ways to introduce substantial tax breaks for families with more than three children.
In late December, Medvedev said that Russia's new concern with the deteriorating demographic situation was essential.
"We need to have the correct attitude toward children. Without this we have no future," he said.
NOVO-OGARYOVO, February 17 (RIA Novosti)
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Post by boroslav on Feb 17, 2011 19:41:59 GMT -5
Meh, how about families with at least 3 children instead of more than 3? Otherwise Muslims will steal the money... The minorities could help cushion the effects of the demographic problems. But there's again the question whether they can be assimilated... |
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Post by TsarSamuil on Feb 23, 2011 14:51:07 GMT -5
Child birth benefits up in Ukraine.
KYIV, February 23 /UKRINFORM/. The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has approved the decision to increase cash assistance for childbirth. This was announced during a briefing at the Cabinet of Ministers Wednesday by Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Social Policy Serhiy Tihipko.
Starting this year, for the first child parents will receive assistance of 22 cost of living sums. The size of the first one-time payment will amount to 7,344 UAH, and then during 12 months the parents will receive 884 UAH a month. In total, the payments will amount to 17,952 UAH. Earlier, the amount of this assistance was 12,240 UAH (1 USD - 7.94 UAH), Tihipko reminded.
After the birth of the second child, benefits will make 45 living wages, which is 36,720 UAH. The third child will bring to its parents 73,440 UAH.
In 2005, a total of 426.1 thousand children were born Ukraine, in 2006 - 460 thousand, 2007 - 472.7, 2008 - 510.6, 2009 - 512.5 and in 2010 - 497.7 thousand children.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Mar 14, 2011 16:52:47 GMT -5
Czech population rises in 2010, but fewer kids born year-on-year.
Čtk.cz
14.03.2011, 09:54
Prague - The Czech Republic´s population rose by 26,000 in 2010, to 10,532,770 people as of the end of December, according to the fresh data the Czech Statistical Office (CSU) released today.
The overall population increase was one-third lower than in 2009.
The numbers of newly-born children and immigrants each declined year-on-year.
Nevertheless, the number of births still exceeded the number of deaths, by 10,300.
A total of 117,200 children were born last year, which is 1,200 fewer than in 2009.
The number of births declined for the second consecutive year.
A total of 106,800 people died last year, 600 fewer than in 2009.
The population increased by 15,600 as a result of immigration, though the number of immigrants dropped by 9,500 year-on-year, while the number of those moving out from the Czech Republic grew by 3,200 year-on-year.
The number of newly concluded marriages declined by 1,100 to 46,700.
The number of divorces increased by 1,600 year-on-year. A total of 30,800 marriages got divorced in 2010.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Mar 22, 2011 12:32:40 GMT -5
More Abortions, Fewer Babies in Bulgaria 2010.
Novinite.com
Society | March 22, 2011, Tuesday
A total of 34 000 abortions were done in Bulgaria in 2010, which is a 10 000 increase compared with the previous year, Bulgarian medics announced Tuesday at a press conference.
Most of the abortions have been prompted by unwanted pregnancy – around 20 000, the others have been caused by medical issues. Besides the official figures, some 12 000 illegal abortions were committed in the country in 2010, mostly among teenage girls and young women, Totko Naydenov, MD and editor-in-chief of the 'Bulgarian Doctor' newspaper, revealed.
During the same period in Bulgaria, 81 000 children were born, while 108 000 individuals have died, which shows that its alarming population decline continues.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Mar 22, 2011 12:54:40 GMT -5
Soundfile, www.thenews.pl/national/artykul151791_poland-sees-mini-baby-boom.htmlPoland sees mini-baby boom? Thenews.pl 22.03.2011 14:43 Can a mini-baby boom in Poland – especially in urban areas – save the country’s dim demographic prospects? The fact is, that, by 2035, there will exist 2 million less Poles, which can have a broad impact on the economy and other spheres. Magdalena Jensen looks at recent trends in birthrates and how they may (or may not) means good things for Poland’s demographic outlook. |
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Post by TsarSamuil on Apr 3, 2011 16:52:51 GMT -5
Bulgarian Mothers are Youngest in EU - Study.
Novinite.com
Society | April 3, 2011, Sunday
Most Bulgarian women are, on average, just over 26.5 years of age when they give birth for the first time, which makes them the youngest mums in the European Union, according to the latest Eurostat Demography Report.
The commission's biennial Demography Report for 2010 shows that Irish mothers are the oldest among the countries from the European bloc. Romania has the second-youngest mums in the EU at 26.9 years.
The European average age for women giving birth is 29.7.
Bulgaria has registered the largest increase of its fertility rate in the EU for the 2003 – 2008 period - from 1.23 children per woman in 2003 to 1.57 in 2009, according to the report.
The European Union, with a population of half a billion, is facing important demographic changes, the report says.
While the population is getting older, fertility has begun to increase again, life expectancy keeps growing and the EU continues to attract a large number of immigrants, it points out.
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Post by TsarSamuil on May 26, 2011 17:34:04 GMT -5
End of the Polish baby boom?
thenews.pl
26.05.2011
In 2010, much to the amazement of demographers, the number of children born in Poland dropped for the first time in seven years.
In 2009 over 419,000 children were born, while in 2010 that number had dropped to 413,000.
In fertility terms, Poland currently holds 209th place out of a ranking of 223 countries across the world. The daily Dziennik Gazeta Prawna warns that the long-term consequences to Poland’s pension scheme may be dire if the birth-rate does not increase soon.
Apart from ongoing economic pressures thanks to the global financial crisis, the daily writes that Poland is in need of an effective pro-family policy, including the better organisation of pre-schooling and childcare.
“The state should wake up and work out that efforts are needed to be undertaken now, and not put off for later,” Irena Kotowska, a demographer from the Warsaw School of Economics told the daily. (jb)
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Post by TsarSamuil on Jun 7, 2011 16:55:05 GMT -5
There are 10,000 abortions in Croatia each year.
Croatian Times
07.06.11. - 15:00
There are 28 abortions on average every day in Croatia, statistics show.
The numbers include intentionally terminated pregnancies as well as miscarriages, and in one year, amount to some 10,000.
UN data shows that worldwide, there were 20 million abortions (125,000 per day) in the first five months of this year.
The highest rate of abortion is registered in the Russian Federation (43 for every 1,000 women aged between 15 and 44). The European (and Croatian) average is 10 to 15 abortions per 1,000 women.
There are 4,450 legally performed abortions in Croatia every year. According to the Croatian Institute for Public Health, there are an additional 4,500 "other" pregnancy terminations. It is not clear what these numbers refer to, daily Jutarnji List writes.
In 1995, there were three times as many abortions as today. The number of legal abortions however is not certain as experts claim some of them are performed in private clinics, in violation of the law.
Statistics also show that the majority of women who decide on an abortion are between 20 and 40 years old, married and already have two to three children. Only 380 abortions were had by young women under the age of 19.
Doctors say the young girls use contraception more often, while married women often use less certain methods, such as "withdrawal".
Encouraged by the Pope's message on his recent visit to the country, some Croatian bishops have called for a ban on abortions and same-sex unions.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Jun 9, 2011 17:03:23 GMT -5
Eurostat: Bulgaria Set for Sharpest Population Decline in EU.
Novinite.com
Bulgaria in EU | June 9, 2011, Thursday
The European Union population is projected to increase from 501 million on January 1, 2010, to 525 million in 2035, to peak at 526 million around 2040.
After 2040, it will gradually decline to 517 million in 2060.
These population projections1 for the period 2010-2060 were issued Thursday by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
Population projections are scenarios that aim to provide information about the possible future size and structure of the population, and should therefore be considered with caution.
Between 2010 and 2060, the population is projected to rise in fourteen Member States and fall in thirteen.
The sharpest declines in population are projected for Bulgaria (-27%), Latvia (-26%), Lithuania (-20%), Romania and Germany (both -19%) while the strongest population growth is expected in Ireland (+46%), Luxembourg (+45%), Cyprus (+41%), the United Kingdom (+27%), Belgium (+24%) and Sweden (+23%).
There are projected to be considerable differences between the Member States.
In 2060, the Member States with the largest populations would be the United Kingdom (79 million), France (74 million), Germany (66 million), Italy (65 million) and Spain (52 million).
The EU population is also projected to continue to grow older, with the share of the population aged 65 years and over rising from 17% in 2010 to 30% in 2060, and those aged 80 and over rising from 5% to 12% over the same period.
The EU population is expected to become older throughout the projection period, due in particular to relatively low fertility and an increasing number of people living to higher ages. This ageing process will occur in all Member States. In 2060, the share of the population aged 65 or more is projected to range from 22% in Ireland and 25% in the United Kingdom, Belgium and Denmark to 36% in Latvia, 35% in Romania and Poland and 33% in Bulgaria, Germany and Slovakia.
Comparing 2060 with the situation one hundred years before, in 1960, the share of those aged 65 or more is expected to increase between two and six times in the Member States for which data are available.
In 2060, the share of the population aged 80 or more is projected to be 12% on average in the EU, to range from 9% in Ireland, Cyprus and the United Kingdom to 14% in Spain, Italy and Germany.
Compared with the situation one hundred years before, in 1960, the share of those aged 80 or more is expected to grow between five and eighteen times by 2060 in the Member States for which data are available.
In consequence, the old age dependency ratio in the EU, i.e. the population aged 65 years and older divided by the population aged 15 to 64, is projected to increase from 26% in 2010 to 53% in 2060. In other words, there would be only two persons aged 15 to 64 for every person aged 65 or more in 2060, compared with four persons to one in 2010.
The old age dependency ratio is projected to be 60% or more in Bulgaria, Germany, Latvia, Poland,
Romania and Slovakia, and 45% or less in Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom.
In 1960, the old age dependency ratio ranged from 10% to 19% in the Member States for which data are available, meaning that there were between five and ten persons aged 15 to 64 for every person aged 65 or more.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Jul 2, 2011 10:25:00 GMT -5
Russia says abortion ads must carry health warning.
By Amie Ferris-Rotman
MOSCOW | Fri Jul 1, 2011 3:23pm EDT
(Reuters) - Russian lawmakers, worried about a falling birth rate, passed a law on Friday that abortion advertisements must carry a health warning.
Russia has one of the world's highest abortion rates and cutting this could help it stem a demographic disaster that is looming as its population shrinks.
Under the new law approved by the lower house of parliament, 10 percent of the space used in abortion ads must carry a list of possible negative consequences for women, including infertility, RIA news agency reported.
According to the lower house's website, duma.gov.ru, 2007 saw 1.5 million abortions -- almost on a par with the number of children born that year.
"These ads make young girls believe they won't have any problems interrupting a pregnancy," RIA quoted parliamentarian Viktor Zvagelsky as saying of current advertisements.
He said the law was drawn up as "the situation with abortions in Russia was depressing."
Though the Soviet Union was the first country in the world to legalize abortion on request in 1920, dictator Josef Stalin outlawed it again, from 1936 until he died in 1954, to try to boost the birth rate.
The Communists later encouraged new births with prizes and money, but since they were ousted two decades ago Russia's population has steadily dropped. It shrunk by more than 12 million between 1992 and 2008, to around 143 million.
The United Nations predicts that by 2050 Russia's population will have dropped by almost a fifth from today to 116 million. It has said overcoming racism and taking in more migrants could help Russia boost its population.
Health experts say key factors in the decline are poor diet leading to heart disease, heavy drinking by men, an HIV/AIDS epidemic spurred by heroin abuse and a high number of violent deaths.
The bill is expected to pass the upper house and be signed into law by President Dmitry Medvedev without problem.
The country's increasingly powerful Orthodox church weighed heavily into the abortion issue a year ago, calling for tougher rules to reduce their number. Feminists argued this would hurt women's rights.
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Post by TsarSamuil on Jul 2, 2011 10:30:05 GMT -5
MPs pass citizens’ anti-abortion initiative.
PAP
01.07.2011 15:44
A citizens’ initiative to completely outlaw abortion in Poland has been passed by parliament, and will land on the desk of an extraordinary committee to look into the petition.
The bill was voted on in parliament today by 416 members of the Sejm lower house. 151 parliamentarians voted for the outright rejection of the citizens’ initiative, while 254 approved the initiative’s application. Eleven MPs abstained.
Three parties in parliament, Law and Justice, its splinter group Poland Comes First, as well as junior coalition partners the Polish Peasants’ Party voted for the initiative, while the Democratic Left Alliance voted against the initiative.
The extraordinary committee now has until 1 September to file its findings into the proposed bill, which assumes the total abolition of abortion in Poland. Currently, the country has one of the strictest anti-termination laws in the EU.
The petition has so far been signed by around 600,000 people. The authors of the imitative have said that the Polish Constitution protects life in the pre-natal phase, and as such any law allowing abortion would go against the document.
The current abortion law has been in place since 1993, and allows for termination in only a number of cases: when the pregnancy constitutes a health threat for the mother, when medical certification proves that the foetus is terminally damaged, and pregnancy as a result of rape. (jb)
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