The countries where population is declining

China's population fell for the first time in over six decades, according to figures published on Tuesday. 

But it is not the only one. 

Many countries -- especially in Europe and Asia -- will see their populations decline in the coming decades, if forecasts for 2100 published by the UN last July prove true. In others, population is already declining.

Eight countries with more than 10 million inhabitants have seen their populations decline over the past decade. Most are European.

Alongside Ukraine, whose population has plummeted due to the Russian invasion, the number of people in Italy, Portugal, Poland, Romania and Greece is on the wane.  

There are many reasons behind these falls, some unique to each country, but they all share low fertility rates, meaning women are having fewer babies on average than before. 

Fertility rates of between 1.2 to 1.6 children per woman are recorded in these southern and eastern European countries, according to the World Bank. A fertility rate of more than 2 is needed to keep a population stable. 

Added to this phenomenon is a huge migratory exodus in Poland, Romania and Greece, with more people leaving to go and live abroad than stay at home. 

Outside Europe, Japan is also seeing its ageing population decline. This is largely due to a low fertility rate of 1.3 children per woman and low immigration. 

Japan lost more than 3 million people between 2011 and 2021.

The same goes for the Middle East. In Syria, the population has been devastated by more than a decade of grinding war, with millions of refugees fleeing to neighbouring countries and beyond. 

Approximately 606,000 men, women and children have been killed in the fighting, estimates the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

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