Spain protests strikes Twitter / @acampadabcn_int

New data released by the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE) shows that the Spanish population will shrink —the first time in just over 40 years, according to the Spanish newspaper El País.

Spain's population currently stands at just over 46 million people, but the Spanish government expects it to shrink to around 45 million in 2022, and a hair under 41.5 million people in 2052. That is equal to a loss of about a tenth of its population over the next 40 years. 

While life expectancy is on the rise, El País notes that the population of childbearing women is on the decline and that more people are emigrating from Spain than moving to the country, a problem caused by and exacerbating the current economic crisis.

The decline is sour news for a country experiencing one of the worst economic crises throughout its history. The Euro crisis sparked protests throughout the country that turned violent last week, bad loans have rocketed to a new zenith, and suicides rates have gotten so high that the Spanish government has put a moratorium on evicting "vulnerable" homeowners.

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