Luminor Bank’s Chief Economist Lenno Uusküla said Estonia’s declining birth rates will bring economic problems in the future, for example, in healthcare and paying pensions.
In November, 721 children were born in Estonia. In total, 8,442 children have been born in the first 11 months of this year.
Uusküla said that while discussion about economic cycles is important, it takes a back seat to birth rates, which will lead to several problems.
The economist first pointed to the collapse of the pension system.
“The issue is the ratio of working people to retirees. If that declines, there simply will not be enough people working to pay for pensions, and our pension system is built on that model. Working people pay pensions to retirees out of their wages. If there are a third fewer children, then there are a third fewer workers, and the pension will essentially be a third smaller,” Uusküla said.
Read more: ERR.EE
