Headline

Top 10 Countries With Declining Population

Published

4 months ago

August 6, 2025

In 2025, while many countries are battling overcrowding, a growing number of countries are quietly shrinking in terms of population.

Driven by low fertility rates, aging populations, and high emigration, the population decline in countries like Saint Martin, Cook Islands, and Marshall Islands is raising alarm bells.

This report explores the top 10 countries facing rapid depopulation and what it means for their future stability.

Saint Martin

Saint Martin, a French overseas collectivity in the Caribbean, is facing one of the fastest population declines in the world, with its population estimated at around 25, 000 as of early 2025 a sharp drop of about 4.5% annually. The decline, which began after Hurricane Irma devastated the island in 2017, is driven mainly by negative net migration, as more than 1,200 people mostly young adults leave each year in search of better opportunities. At the same time, birth rates are falling, the median age has risen to 42, and fewer young families are staying to contribute to the economy. This demographic shift is already affecting the island’s workforce, economy, and public services, with vacant homes and underused facilities signaling deeper challenges ahead. Without urgent measures to attract investment, create jobs, and retain residents, Saint Martin risks long-term social and economic instability.

Cook Islands

The Cook Islands, a small Pacific island nation and New Zealand territory, is experiencing one of the fastest population declines in the world, with its population dropping to around 17,000 as of 2025. This sharp decrease is largely due to high emigration rates, as citizens—especially young people—leave for better job opportunities, education, and healthcare in New Zealand and Australia, where they hold full citizenship. The situation is worsened by low birth rates, an aging population, and the depopulation of many outer islands, with most residents relocating to the capital, Rarotonga, or moving abroad entirely. The government has responded by trying to attract returnees, improve infrastructure, and strengthen the economy through tourism and investment, but these efforts struggle to compete with the advantages offered overseas. As a result, the Cook Islands now faces serious challenges related to workforce shortages, cultural preservation, and long-term sustainability.

Marshall Islands

The Marshall Islands, a small Pacific island nation, is facing a significant population decline in 2025, with its population dropping to around 41,500 from over 53,000 in previous decades, placing it among the top 10 countries with shrinking populations. This decline is largely due to mass migration to the United States under the Compact of Free Association (COFA), as citizens seek better opportunities, healthcare, and education in states like Arkansas and Hawaii. Economic hardship, limited infrastructure, and worsening climate conditions such as rising sea levels, frequent flooding, and freshwater scarcity are key drivers of this exodus. As more young and skilled individuals leave, the country is dealing with labor shortages, brain drain, and growing dependency on international aid. Without urgent action to improve living conditions and address climate threats, the population is expected to continue declining, posing serious risks to the nation’s long-term survival.

Greece

Greece is experiencing a sharp population decline, with numbers falling to 10.1 million in 2025 from over 11 million, driven by low birth rates, an aging population, and youth emigration following the 2009 financial crisis. The country now faces more deaths than births each year, while many rural areas are becoming depopulated. Despite government efforts like family incentives and returnee campaigns, the impact has been limited. Experts warn that if the trend continues, Greece’s population could fall below 9 million by 2050, threatening its workforce, economy, and long-term stability.

Northern Mariana Islands

The Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. commonwealth in the Pacific, is among the top 10 countries with declining populations. As of 2025, its population is estimated at around 47,000, a significant decrease driven by outmigration, low birth rates, and economic challenges. Many residents have left the islands in search of better job opportunities in the mainland United States, especially after the decline of the garment industry and the devastation caused by typhoons in recent years. The shrinking population has raised concerns about labor shortages, economic sustainability, and the future of public services in the territory.

Tuvalu

Tuvalu, a small island nation in the Pacific Ocean, is facing a steady population decline, placing it among the top 10 countries with shrinking populations. With an estimated population of just over 11,000 in 2025, the country has seen increasing emigration due to limited economic opportunities, rising sea levels, and concerns over climate change. Many Tuvaluans are relocating to countries like New Zealand and Australia under special migration programs, seeking better living conditions and job prospects. The declining population poses serious challenges for Tuvalu’s local economy, cultural preservation, and long-term national viability as climate threats continue to loom.

American Samoa

American Samoa, an unincorporated territory of the United States in the South Pacific, ranks among the top 10 countries with declining populations. As of 2025, its population is estimated at around 45,000, continuing a downward trend driven by high emigration rates, especially among youth seeking education, employment, and better healthcare in the U.S. mainland. The territory also struggles with low birth rates and limited economic growth, leading many families to leave in search of improved opportunities. This ongoing population decline raises concerns about workforce shortages, reduced economic activity, and challenges in maintaining public infrastructure and cultural traditions.

Moldova

Moldova, a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, is one of the top 10 nations with the fastest-declining populations. As of 2025, its population has dropped to around 2.4 million, significantly lower than in past decades. This sharp decline is largely due to mass emigration, as millions of Moldovans have left for better economic opportunities in countries like Romania, Italy, and Germany. Combined with a low birth rate and an aging population, the country faces a demographic crisis that threatens its labor force, economic growth, and social services. Moldova’s shrinking population is a major concern for its future development and national stability

The Czech Republic, despite its strong economy and central location in Europe, is experiencing a gradual population decline, placing it among the top 10 countries facing this trend. As of 2025, the population is estimated at around 10.5 million, with projections showing a steady decrease in the coming years. This decline is primarily driven by a persistently low birth rate and an aging population, as younger generations delay starting families or have fewer children. Although immigration has helped offset losses in the past, it is no longer sufficient to maintain long-term population growth. The demographic shift poses challenges for the country’s pension system, healthcare services, and labor market sustainability.

Estonia

Estonia, a Baltic nation in Northern Europe, ranks among the top 10 countries with a declining population. As of 2025, its population is estimated at around 1.3 million, a result of low birth rates, an aging population, and years of emigration, especially following its independence from the Soviet Union. While recent efforts to attract skilled immigrants and support families have seen some success, the overall trend remains downward. The shrinking population raises concerns about future labor shortages, rural depopulation, and strain on the welfare and healthcare systems. Estonia’s government continues to explore policy solutions to reverse or slow this demographic decline.

Headline

South Korea, Japan Protest China, Russia Aircraft Incursions

Published

15 hours ago

December 10, 2025

Editor

South Korea and Japan reacted furiously on Wednesday after Chinese and Russian military aircraft conducted joint patrols around the two countries, with both Seoul and Tokyo scrambling jets.

South Korea said it had protested with representatives of China and Russia, while Japan said it had conveyed its “serious concerns” over national security.

According to Tokyo, two Russian Tu-95 nuclear-capable bombers on Tuesday flew from the Sea of Japan to rendezvous with two Chinese H-6 bombers in the East China Sea, then conducted a joint flight around the country.

The incident comes as Japan is locked in a dispute with China over comments Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi made about Taiwan.

The bombers’ joint flights were “clearly intended as a show of force against our nation, Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi wrote on X Wednesday.

Top government spokesman Minoru Kihara said that Tokyo had “conveyed to both China and Russia our serious concerns over our national security through diplomatic channels”.

Seoul said Tuesday the Russian and Chinese warplanes entered its air defence zone and that a complaint had been lodged with the defence attaches of both countries in the South Korean capital.

“Our military will continue to respond actively to the activities of neighbouring countries’ aircraft within the KADIZ in compliance with international law,” said Lee Kwang-suk, director general of the International Policy Bureau at Seoul’s defence ministry, referring to the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone.

South Korea also said it deployed “fighter jets to take tactical measures in preparation for any contingencies” in response to the Chinese and Russian incursion into the KADIZ.

The planes were spotted before they entered the air defence identification zone, defined as a broader area in which countries police aircraft for security reasons but which does not constitute their airspace.

Japan’s defence ministry also scrambled fighter jets to intercept the warplanes.

Beijing later Tuesday confirmed it had organised drills with Russia’s military according to “annual cooperation plans”.

Moscow also described it as a routine exercise, saying it lasted eight hours and that some foreign fighter jets followed the Russian and Chinese aircraft.

Since 2019, China and Russia have regularly flown military aircraft into South Korea’s air defence zone without prior notice, citing joint exercises.

In November last year, Seoul scrambled jets as five Chinese and six Russian military planes flew through its air defence zone.

Similar incidents occurred in June and December 2023, and in May and November 2022.

Meanwhile, Tokyo said Monday it had scrambled jets in response to repeated takeoff and landing exercises involving fighter jets and military helicopters from China’s Liaoning aircraft carrier as it cruised in international waters near Japan.

It also summoned Beijing’s ambassador after military aircraft from the Liaoning locked radar onto Japanese jets, the latest incident in the row ignited by Takaichi’s comments backing Taiwan.

Takaichi suggested last month that Japan would intervene militarily in any Chinese attack on the self-ruled island, which Beijing claims as its own and has not ruled out seizing by force.

AFP

Headline

Thousands Reported To Have Fled DR Congo Fighting As M23 Closes On Key City

Published

1 day ago

December 9, 2025

Editor

Fierce fighting rocked the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo on Tuesday as the Rwanda-backed M23 militia rapidly advanced towards the strategic city of Uvira, with tens of thousands of people fleeing over the nearby border into Burundi, sources said.

The armed group and its Rwandan allies were just a few kilometres (miles) north of Uvira, security and military sources told AFP.

The renewed violence undermined a peace agreement brokered by US President Donald Trump that Kinshasa and Kigali signed less than a week ago, on December 4.

Trump had boasted that the Rwanda-DRC conflict was one of eight he has ended since returning to power in America in January.

With the new fighting, more than 30,000 people have fled the area around Uvira for Burundi in the space of a week, a UN source and a Burundian administrative source told AFP.

The Burundian source told AFP on condition of anonymity he had recorded more than 8,000 daily arrivals over the past two days, and 30,000 arrivals in one week. A source in the UN refugee agency confirmed the figure.

The Rwanda-backed M23 offensive comes nearly a year after the group seized control of Goma and Bukavu, the two largest cities in eastern DRC, a strategic region rich in natural resources and plagued by conflict for 30 years.

Local people described a state of growing panic as bombardments struck the hills above Uvira, a city of several hundred thousand residents.

“Three bombs have just exploded in the hills. It’s every man for himself,” said one resident reached by telephone.

“We are all under the beds in Uvira — that’s the reality,” another resident said, while a representative of civil society who would not give their name described fighting on the city’s outskirts.

Fighting was also reported in Runingo, another small locality some 20 kilometres (12 miles) from Uvira, as the M23 and the Rwandan army closed in.

Burundi views the prospect of Uvira falling to Rwanda-backed forces as an existential threat, given that it sits across Lake Tanganyika from Burundi’s economic capital Bujumbura.

The city is the main sizeable locality in the area yet to fall to the M23 and its capture would essentially cut off the zone from DRC control.

Burundi deployed about 10,000 soldiers to eastern DRC in October 2023 as part of a military cooperation agreement, and security sources say reinforcements have since taken that presence to around 18,000 men.

The M23 and Rwandan forces launched their Uvira offensive on December 1.

Rich in natural resources, eastern DRC has been choked by successive conflicts for around three decades.

Violence in the region intensified early this year when M23 fighters seized the key eastern city of Goma in January, followed by Bukavu, capital of South Kivu province, a few weeks later.

– Regional risk –

The peace deal meant to quell the fighting was signed last Thursday in Washington by Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame, with Trump — who called it a “miracle” deal — also putting his signature to it.

The agreement includes an economic component intended to secure US supplies of critical minerals present in the region, as America seeks to challenge China’s dominance in the sector.

But even on the day of the signing, intense fighting took place in South Kivu, where Uvira is located, which included the bombing of houses and schools.

Witnesses and military sources in Uvira said that Congolese soldiers fleeing the fighting had arrived in the city overnight Monday and shops were looted at dawn.

Several hundred Congolese and Burundian soldiers had already fled to Burundi on Monday, according to military sources, since the M23 fighters embarked on their latest offensive from Kamanyola, some 70 kilometres north of Uvira.
Since the M23’s lightning offensive early this year, the front had largely stabilised over the past nine months.

Burundian President Evariste Ndayishimiye warned in February there was a danger of the conflict escalating into a broader regional war, a fear echoed by the United Nations.

Headline

‘Santa Claus’ Arrested For Possessing, Distributing Child Sexual Abuse Material

Published

1 day ago

December 9, 2025

Editor

A 64-year-old man from Hamilton Township has been arrested in the United States after investigators linked him to the possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material.

The suspect, identified as Mark Paulino, had been working as a “Santa for hire” at holiday events, a role that placed him in repeated contact with children.

Mercer County officials said the investigation began on 4 December when detectives were alerted to suspicious online activity involving the uploading of child pornography from a residence in Hamilton Township. The probe quickly identified Paulino, a retired elementary school teacher, as the person involved.

Police stated that Paulino had presented himself online as a retired teacher and had recently performed as Santa Claus for photographs and private, corporate, and organisational events. “Because this role involved direct, repeated contact with children, detectives worked around the clock to secure a search warrant,” authorities explained.

The warrant was executed on 5 December, during which police seized multiple items regarded as evidentiary. Paulino was taken into custody without incident and charged with possession and distribution of child sexual abuse materials, as well as endangering the welfare of a child.

Prosecutors have filed a motion to detain him pending trial. The investigation remains ongoing, and authorities have urged members of the public with relevant information to come forward.