The Components of Natural Change

Abstract

There have been significant changes in natural increase in most Western European countries in the last thirty years, mainly resulting from fluctuations in the birth rate. Since the early 1970s, most countries have experienced declining rates of natural increase (Table 3.1). The highest rates of natural increase are those occurring in the Irish Republic, where birth rates relative to death rates have remained high. In contrast, West Germany is at the bottom of the league table, with death rates exceeding birth rates in each of the periods and causing reductions in the natural component of population change. During this period the rate of natural change in the UK has remained well below that in the Netherlands.