ANALYSIS OF THE DEMOGRAPHIC SITUATION IN EU COUNTRIES

The article analyzes the current demographic situation in EU countries. The authors pay special attention to the changes in the number of the population for the period 2011-2023; analyze the indicators of birth, mortality and average life expectancy in the EU in general and in its individual countries in particular. A detailed study of the demographic situation in the region allowed the authors to group the EU countries according to the similarity of demographic indicators and their trends in the modern period. The first group consists of countries with the least favorable demographic structure. Negative demographic trends here have been going on for several decades. The demographic situation can be calleting critical. This includes Bulgaria and Germany. The second group of countries has the same negative trends, but not as serious. There are also negative demographic trends here, which are in the first group, but are older. This group includes most EU countries: Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. The third group consists of countries with a relatively good demographic situation, or countries that are just beginning to suffer from negative demographic trends with the potential to take measures to correct the situation. This group includes seven countries: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Malta, the Netherlands and Sweden. The fourth group is small and includes EU countries that demonstrate positive demographic trends - a higher percentage of the young population and a high birth rate. These are Cyprus, Ireland and Luxembourg. The analysis of birth rates in the countries of the European Union in the modern period allows us to state that the tendency to lower birth rates began to be detecting after the crisis of 2008, when 4.68 million people were born in the EU. Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, the Netherlands, Germany, Slovenia, France, and Finland are also among the countries with significant population growth. Romania and Slovakia belong to the group of countries where minor changes in the number of the population, which do not affect the general demographic situation, are observe ding. Demographic problems in the EU are regularly reflecting in Eurostat's analytical reports. According to data from this statistical agency, published at the end of 2023, 75.7% of European households have no children. This indicates that depopulation and population decline are almost inevitable in the coming decades. According to Eurostat's cautious forecasts, the population of the European Union will decrease by 6% by 2100. The mortality rates in the countries still exceed the birth rates, thus negative natural growth is forming and natural reproduction of the population is not ensure ding in full. According to the indicators of the mortality rate, the countries of the European Union can be divided into three categories: 1) with high indicators of the mortality rate; 2) with low the mortality rates; 3) with the mortality rates close to the EU average. In all EU countries, there are differences in life expectancy of men and women. On average, women in the studied countries live 5.3 years longer than mining. Together with the general indicator of average life expectancy, its value for the male and female population of the EU-27 increased. Further studies of the demographic situation in the EU countries should be amending at a detailed forecast of the demographic situation in the coming years and at the analysis of the effectiveness of the demographic policy of the countries of the region. Key words: demography, population, EU, birth rate, mortality, fertility.