Ethno demographic aspects of population ageing in Eastern Serbia

Abstract

The age structure of the population of Eastern Serbia is influenced by both components of population dynamics and inherited age composition, ie demographic inertia. The unfavorable age structure of the population of Eastern Serbia is the result of a long-term decline in fertility and its retention at a very low level, as well as specific socio-cultural patterns that are direct reflection on the model of reproduction for over a century. This paper examines the reasons and consequences of the current unfavorable demographic trends from the point of view of ethno-demographic differentiation that points to the significantly unfavorable age structure of the Vlachs compared to the Serbian population. Demographic aging indicators such as average age, age group structure and ageing index unambiguously demonstrate the long-lasting and intense process of biological depopulation of the Vlach population, as well as the general demographic erosion of the population of Eastern Serbia that has become an irreversible process that can no longer be influenced by any measure of population policy.