DEMOGRAPHICS: EU POPULATION RISES SLIGHTLY IN 1998.

Across the entire European Union, the natural increase in population (live births minus deaths) was 285,400, considerably less than net migration of 461,200. The report notes that in many Central and East European countries population decline further last year, either as a result of natural causes or due to net migration outflows. The European Union accounted for only 1.0% of the world population increase last year. This compares with 21.7% for India and 13.2% for China.The total fertility rate remained below replacement level (about 2.1 children per woman) in all Council of Europe member countries except Albania and Turkey, where it was above replacement level. The average EU woman now has 1.45 children (1.39 in the Euro zone). The high is Ireland's 1.94, the low Spain's 1.15.The report also notes that births outside marriage continue to rise in all countries. In 1998, these amounted to one in every two births in Sweden, Estonia and Norway, and two out of three in Iceland. EU-wide, the rate is about one in four, although it stands closer to one in five in the Euro zone (all EU Member States except for Denmark, Greece, Sweden and the United Kingdom). Eurostat claims this trend reflects the growing popularity of...