QuoteAI Overview         Over 40 countries and territories currently experience negative population growth. This trend is driven by low fertility rates, aging populations, and outward migration. The most severely affected regions are Eastern Europe, East Asia, and several island territories.Eastern and Southeastern EuropeThis region contains the highest concentration of shrinking populations due to sustained low birth rates combined with decades of working-age emigration.Ukraine: Experienced drastic population loss due to both the war and significant emigration.Baltic States: Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.Balkans: Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Albania, and Greece.Other European Nations: Bulgaria, Romania, Poland, Moldova, Hungary, and Belarus.East and Southeast AsiaDeclines in these countries are largely driven by record-low fertility rates, high life expectancies, and very little immigration.China: The world's most populous country until recently, now experiencing overall population contraction due to the lasting impacts of the one-child policy and rapidly aging demographics.Japan: Japan's population has been declining for years due to a shrinking workforce and one of the oldest median ages in the world.South Korea: Faces the world's lowest fertility rates, resulting in a significant natural population decrease.Taiwan: Also shows a negative population growth rate.Major Western European EconomiesWhile some Western European nations maintain stable populations or slight growth due to immigration, a few large economies are actively shrinking naturally.Germany and Italy.Other Nations and TerritoriesRussiaCubaTerritories: Puerto Rico, American Samoa, the Cook Islands, and Saint Martin.