The demographic threshold Cover Image

The demographic threshold
The demographic threshold

Author(s): Aleksander Jakoš
Subject(s): Social Sciences
Published by: Urbanistični inštitut Republike Slovenije
Keywords: decreasing number of inhabitants – demographic threshold; planning and cities under new demographic conditions

Summary/Abstract: The number of births in Slovenia has in the last twenty years almost halved, immigration has stopped and the number of older citizens is increasing while the whole population number is actually decreasing. This phenomenon has been termed ageing population, which is incorrect. In fact it means that there are increasingly more elder citizens, because they reach a higher age, but this is not the essential problem. A major inconsistency is in the term ageing population itself, by which we want to emphasise the problem of decreasing birth rates and not as a problem of people deceasing later. The condition when the number of births equals the number of deaths is called the demographic threshold. This problem is extremely pressing in Slovenia because our country is already below the demographic threshold, but not because of ageing. The decreasing number of inhabitants, strong decrease in the number of younger people and also the increasing number of older people, demand new approaches to planning, which cannot be based on imaginary growth, but on quality development. This also applies to cities.

  • Issue Year: 13/2002
  • Issue No: 2
  • Page Range: 139-142
  • Page Count: 4
  • Language: English
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