POPULATION – Ukraine open for business

Sweden allocates $133 mln to Ukraine to support the population in winter

Sweden is donating 1.4 billion kronor ($133 million) to Ukraine, which will be used, among other things, to support the population in the winter.

According to the website of the Swedish public broadcaster SVG, the new support package was presented by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Aid Minister Johan Forsell on Monday.

“This is the largest support so far in Sweden’s bilateral assistance to Ukraine,” Kristersson said at a press conference.

Of this package, 900 million kronor will go to the World Bank’s Ukraine Recovery Fund, which supports Ukraine’s energy, housing, healthcare and transportation infrastructure. In addition, money taken from Sweden’s aid budget will be used to purchase heaters and energy equipment. According to Forsell, this was the request made by the Ukrainian side to Sweden.

He also accused Russia of conducting “energy terrorism” against Ukraine. “Russia is deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure to ensure that civilians, who are already under severe pressure, will have an even harder time. With this package, we want to help Ukraine both build new and rebuild what has been destroyed,” Forssell said.

At the same time, Kristersson warned of the consequences if the EU countries fail to agree on an expanded long-term budget at this week’s summit in Brussels. “I still hope that everything will work out. But I want to emphasize that we are not talking about the usual European disagreements that we sometimes have, because then you just have another meeting later, and that would have huge consequences if we don’t agree,” he said.

POPULATION, SUPPORT, SWEDEN

Japan’s population has shrunk by 800,000 over year

The population of Japan noticeably decreased in 2022, while the number of foreigners living in the country increased to the highest level in the last 10 years, reports the Associated Press citing data from the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

According to its information, in 2022 the number of Japanese decreased by 800 thousand people, or 0.65% compared to 2021, and reached 125.41 million people by January 1, 2023. At the same time, the population of Japan fell for the 14th consecutive year.

Asssociated Press notes that for the first time since the collection of such data, the population has decreased in all 47 prefectures of Japan at once.

At the same time, the number of foreigners living in Japan increased – by 10.7%, and this is the highest population growth at the expense of newcomers since 2013. By now, the share of foreigners in Japan’s population is 2.4%.

After 2008, Japan’s population has been steadily declining due to a low birth rate. In the past year, the number of children born in the country was again extremely low – 771.8 thousand.

The current Government of Japan considers the problem of low birth rate to be one of the main issues that need to be addressed.

Japans, POPULATION

Population of Poland has decreased by 130 thousand over year

The number of residents in Poland has fallen by 130,000 since last June, one of the highest annual population declines in a decade, the Associated Press (AP) reported, citing a report by Poland’s Central Statistical Office.
“A preliminary report from the Central Statistical Office says there were about 130,000 fewer Poles in the EU country at the end of June than a year earlier. This is one of the highest population declines in Poland since 2010,” AP informs.
According to preliminary data, in the first half of this year recorded about 14 thousand fewer births compared to the same period in 2022. AP notes that such indicators are noted against the background of measures protecting the family and low unemployment, which in June amounted to about 5%.
There were also 34 more deaths than births for every 10,000 people in the first half of 2023. Last year this figure was 21.
Now there are about 37.7 million people in Poland, which is 800 thousand less than in 2010.

POLAND, POPULATION

Population of Ukraine at end of 2022 was about 31.4 mln people

Ukraine’s population at the end of 2022 was about 31.4 million people, of which about 1.15 million live in the temporarily occupied territories, according to experts at the Ukrainian Health Center (UHC).
“The war has resulted in an unprecedented migration crisis and large-scale internal displacements. UCH estimates that at the end of 2022, Ukraine’s population was about 31.4 million people. Of these, 1.15 million people live in the temporarily Russian-occupied territories seized after the start of the invasion,” the center’s report on the health care system after the start of the active invasion states.
The center’s experts also note that in the year after the start of the full-scale invasion, the system of outpatient and specialized medical care has fully recovered, in contrast to the system of primary medical care.
“The consumption of medical services at various levels declined in the first months after the invasion. However, outpatient and specialized medical care gradually recovered to prewar levels during 2022. Primary medical care has not resumed and requires support,” the center’s experts stressed.

POPULATION