Geodemography

Title of session: Demographic transformation in Europe

Organizers:

Stanley Brunn              University of Kentucky, USA

Tamás Hardi                Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Georgi Burardov         Sofia University

Nadezhda Ilieva          NIGGG-BAS

Boris Kazakov             NIGGG-BAS

Since the beginning of the industrial age, a profound demographic transformation has taken place in Europe, displayed by changes in the reproductive attitudes, values and migratory behavior of the population. Only in the course of one and a half century, the total fertility rate in Europe has decreased significantly, gradually establishing the one-child family model as a result of the changes in the reproductive attitude, the level of education, the increased requirements of raising children, the intensive urbanization processes, etc. At the same time, as a result of the increased standard of living, improvement of the quality and accessibility of medical care, the average life expectancy is has grown more than 2.5 times reaching 80 years or more in most European countries. The consequences of the observed processes are related to the unprecedented aging of the population and the increasingly tangible reduction of the fertile contingent of female population. Along with that, the demographic explosion and the uncertain political and economic environment in South Asia, the Middle East and Africa has resulted in increasing migratory pressure on Europe in recent years. The dynamics of these processes affect both the number and distribution of the population, as well as the transformation of ethnic and national identities. In the 21st century, Europe will face serious challenges representing threats, but also objective opportunities for the overall development of the continent. Each region requires the implementation of “smart” policies, both for adaptation and addressing the problems outlined, geared to the geographical specificities of the particular territory. The aim of this thematic division is to trace the demographic transformations, their causes and factors of influence, the impact those transformations have on the socio-economic outlook of Europe and its individual regions, as well as the development of projections and models of the demographic development within a foreseeable time horizon – by the middle of the 21st century.

Planned output:

The conference papers will be published by Springer Publishing as a separate monography chapter, or in the “Journal of the Bulgarian Geographical Society” journal and the “Problems of Geography” journal.

Looking forward to welcoming your research to this session!