Uneven geographies: ageing and population dynamics in Latvia

Abstract

AbstractThe twin phenomena of ageing populations and declining populations are profoundly transforming societies and economies in Europe. Driven by decreasing fertility rates and the continuing increased life expectancy, populations have not been ageing uniformly across time and space. In an increasingly urbanized world, the spatial distribution of the young and the elderly is a matter of growing scholarly and policy interest. In Europe, this process is more pronounced in peripheral areas than in the core regions, while the development of metropolitan areas is associated with suburbanization predominantly driven by young in‐migrants. Latvia is an interesting case study for studying population ageing and its spatial imbalances due to the key role of emigration in population decline and ageing. By employing descriptive and spatial analysis, this study uses data from the Latvian census and population register to explore the relationships between population change and ageing processes. Global Moran's I and the local indicators of spatial association were used to identify spatial systems. The study confirmed global and local spatial autocorrelation for the both examined age variables. Using the Getis‐Ord Gi* method identified spatial clusters of the young and the elderly. We found more pronounced residential clustering of the elderly aged 75 and over in the depopulating region of Latgale, whereas the Riga metropolitan region and areas around the largest towns tend to cluster young residents.