Monitoring survey  |  Regional characteristics demography

Regional characteristics demography

The level of fertility required for exact replacement of generations is sightly over 2 children per woman. If in all partner regions fertility is below that level, then why do some regions whitness population growth when others have started to shrink? Part of the explanation lies in the extra years lived by the population thanks to improving life expectancy. But trends in life expectancy usually do not vary substantially between regions and sub-regions. If one tries to account for regional and sub-regional variations in population trends, it is clear that migration (internal and external) remains as the prime factor.

Linking the table above with the one on population decline, this is evident: the regions that whitness population decline (like Groningen, Twente, Dundee) stand out in having a negative net migration balans. In most cases this is due to the loss of young adults moving towards other regions within the country. In the Twente case external emigration to nearby Germany is responsable.