The Republic of Moldova, according to the International Monetary Fund, is in the fifth place in the world in terms of population decline. Over the last 25 years, the number of inhabitants of the country has decreased by 19%.
В ranking includes 24 countries with the fastest growing and 24 with the fastest decreasing populations.
In this anti-rating, Ukraine is the leader (-33%). In second place are the Marshall Islands (-29%). In third place is EU member Bulgaria (-23%). In fourth place is Latvia, also an EU member (-22%).
Moldova is followed by Lithuania (-18%).
Romania is also on the list, on the eighth position with a 16% decrease. Apart from it, the top EU countries are Croatia, which has been a member of the community since 2013 with a minus of 12%, as well as Hungary (-7%) and Poland (-5%).
In general, it can be said that the Eastern European region is experiencing the highest rates of depopulation in the world.
Gulf countries lead the world in population growth rates
Qatar leads the world with a staggering 423% population growth, increasing from about 594,000 to 3.1 million people. It is followed by the UAE with a 250% increase, while Bahrain (+154%), Kuwait (+139%) and Oman (+129%) are also in the top ten.
These surges are driven almost entirely by labor migration from abroad. Large-scale construction projects, oil and gas expansion, and broader efforts to diversify the economy have attracted millions of foreign workers to the region over the past two decades.
Outside the Gulf, the fastest growing populations are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa. Equatorial Guinea (+167%), Niger (+157%) and Papua New Guinea (+150%) round out the top five.
Angola (+140%), Chad (+127%), Democratic Republic of Congo (+122%), Burundi (+124%), Uganda (+120%) and Zambia (+120%) more than doubled their populations. High fertility rates and gradual improvements in health care are supporting rapid population growth in the region.
