Real income and population prospects in the Baltic Sea Area

The nine nations bordering on the Baltic Sea differ greatly in regard to both their population and their economic situation. Russia has one hundred times the population of Estonia and in Denmark the real income per capita is six times that of Latvia. When measured by real income per inhabitant, the poor Baltic countries are about half a century behind their rich neighbors, so that there is marked economic pressure to emigrate to these rich neighboring countries. In these poor transition economies the birth rate has plummeted during the last few years and the difference in life expectancy compared to the rich neighboring countries has increased. Even in a situation of rapid economic growth, it is not at all certain that the fertility rate will return to its earlier level