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Tashkent, 1 December 2023 - Through a strategic approach to policy-making, Uzbekistan and other countries in Central Asia can enhance their resilience and adaptability to demographic changes, turning challenges into opportunities for sustainable development, an international conference concluded. The conference, titled "Sustainable Development Amid Demographic Changes: National and International Practices," was organized by the Senate of Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Scientific Research Institute of Family and Women, and UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, in partnership with several UN agencies, international financial institutions, private sector partners, and academia. “With the current age structure of the population, and a growing working-age population, Uzbekistan, like other countries in Central Asia, is in a prime position to reap the benefits of the demographic dividend,” said Florence Bauer, UNFPA Regional Director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia.
read moreIf only women had more children, a widely held view goes, our demographic worries would fade away. Higher birth rates would stabilize population numbers, or even make them grow. Soon, the proportion of working-age people in employment would go up, easing concerns about how sustainable our social support and pension systems are. Eventually, increasing populations would drive economic growth and prosperity.
read moreWomen and girls make up about half of the population in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Yet their desires for their lives, families and careers are often ignored in discussions about the region’s demographic future. Worse, their rights as equal citizens, including their reproductive rights, are under threat, as anxieties around population decline have given rise to pro-natalist policies and narratives putting pressure on women to have more children.
read moreWithout significant improvements in gender equality, the countries of Eastern Europe are unlikely to overcome the demographic crisis they are facing, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia warned on today’s World Population Day. Decades of outmigration and low birthrates have left countries in Eastern Europe with declining and ageing populations. Efforts by governments to address the crisis by trying to boost birthrates have largely failed.
read moreThey’re called repatriates, or “repats” for short, people who move back to their home countries after having emigrated. Some parts of Central and Eastern Europe — under pressure from low birth rates and high outmigration — are working to convince emigrés to return home, hoping to see their populations grow and to develop demographic resilience.
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