European Death Zones

Tages-Anzeiger’s data team has published a striking interactive map that visualizes one of Europe’s most profound demographic challenges: in most of the continent's regions, more people are now dying than are being born.

In Europe is becoming a “net death zone”: What the future would look like without immigration the newspaper uses regional data from Eurostat and national statistics offices to show where natural population decline is most acute. The choropleth map shades European regions according to whether they have a birth surplus (more births than deaths) or a death surplus (more deaths than births). It reveals that large swaths of Eastern and Southern Europe, are witnessing falling birth rates.

Only a handful of areas in Northern and Western Europe - such as parts of France, Sweden, Norway, England, and Switzerland - still record more births than deaths. The simple two-color scheme used by the map (blue for birth surplus, red for death surplus) conveys this stark divide at a glance.

The conclusion from the map is clear. Population growth in much of Europe is now entirely dependent on immigration. Without immigration most of the continent faces a future of an aging population without enough younger workers to sustain its economies, support its welfare systems, or maintain current levels of social and economic vitality.

Tages-Anzeiger's map follows quickly upon a similar themed map published by The Guardian. The Guardian's map, Europe's population crisis, is a similarly effective and stark visualization of the continent's emerging demographic problems. This map's primary purpose is to highlight the dramatic difference migration makes to Europe's population projections by 2100. It successfully achieves this by comparing Europe's projected population "With migration" and "Without migration".

The map reveals that without migration nearly all of Europe is going to see a massive fall in population. By 2100, the proportion of people aged 65 or over is projected to rise significantly, leading to slower economic growth, increased tax burdens, and a greater demand for health and social care services. 

Via: Datawrapper's Data Viz Dispatch