Summary
1 - Immigrants and emigrants, all natives of the planet
2 - Native population and resident foreigners
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1 - Immigrants and emigrants, all natives of the planet
If the Earth is just one. If Humanity is totally composed of homo sapiens, the divisions between states are artificial, transitory and, the borders result from wars and bloodbaths, based on seigneurial ambitions.
As a rule, borders do not divide anything substantial, of necessary; they are only the application of ephemeral property rights, successive spheres of property, with humans divided between owners and not owners, with the former controlling the State, an authoritarian and repressive structure to enforce that order, that convenient exclusion, on a political level that, today, usually and with a serious look, they call … democracy !
Democracy is a concept that in its long history, from the times of ancient Athens, essentially suffered the repudiation or tampering, by groups or dominant social classes, manager of the property, whose access or enjoyment refuse or affect the great majority. These groups always knew how to surround gunmen, judges, bureaucrats, police, armies and, more recently, the figure of plumitivos , paid by the owners of the newspapers to maintain a convenient segmentation of people between "top" and "low".
When nation-states were constituted, their central concern was the fixation of their population, subordinated, not only to their masters, but later, to the capitalists; and, within this preoccupation, there was the refusal and antagonism towards other nation-states, with disastrous implications for their natural ones.
The ability to transform nature through work, the creativity of peoples, the collective interaction as a matrix for the production of goods and services, they have become, more and more, a desire for the control of the elites and, the acceptance of that appropriation by those in lower positions. Firstly, by the nobles, for simple tasks, common in agricultural societies; then, by the capitalists, for more complex tasks, inherent to industry work; and later, in services, becoming increasingly diverse, absorbing more and more labor.
In a first phase, the services included, among others, education, health, transport, postal services, personal services to the rich, military service, sexual services and the filling of the state machinery. Later, the conflict inherent to the densification of economic and personal relationship developed judicial apparatuses, cohorts of bureaucrats and policemen. On the other hand, vocational training and school reached the entire population, contributing to the encystment of a diversified state apparatus, immense and invasive, filled by career bureaucrats, entwined with the political class.
The consolidation of nation-states corresponded to the affirmation of nationalism; nationality started to be a central element of distinction between people born and raised in a given nation-state and, those coming from other territories. To the former all the rights and duties inherent to their nature as “nationals” and the non-nationals, especially immigrants, with fewer rights and more duties. This distinction has made immigrants victims of distancing, adversity and marginalization, oriented towards the lowest paid functions, taking advantage of their situations as foreigners, pointed out as competitors by the less qualified indigenous people.
The distinctions are shown, often, under the form of racism, related to the color of skin, religious creed, national origin; there, the darker loses against the lighter one, the Muslim gains in suspicion in the face of Christian overtones; and, a being from Northern Europe deserves more respect than a Balkan. As it is evident, all these social or legal disqualifications aim to create a more submissive, poorer, undemanding but, necessary workforce for the viability of the existence of the less qualified segments of the employers.
The current capitalism works "a tous les azimuths", using or not, difficulties in the boundaries and according to the relationship between the exporting country and importing country, the goods characterization, including work or technology; and, in the context of these aspects, if more or less import/export of labor is needed. For example, in USA an immigration of Europeans is more considered than that of the poor who cross Rio Grande risking his life crossing Mexican border (and Trump's wall) in order to survive clandestinely by accepting low wages and the absence of rights.
Capitalism, in a time of highly globalized competition, generates and exploits these differences between natives and immigrants, not only in terms of income and rights, but also exploiting rivalries, antagonisms and inventing anathemas against chosen groups. But it becomes much more tolerant for retired people looking to live in a warmer climate. And, above all, for well-heeled oligarchs who pay big money to be able to live peacefully on their dirty money in complacent countries, where the presence of corrupt people in the government is customary. Let us remember the so-called “gold visas” and the chain of scoundrels linked to them, in Portugal – Paulo Portas, Miguel Macedo and the sect installed in the extinct SEF – Foreigners and Borders Service.
Agrarian, pre-capitalist societies, even when they built rich temples and palaces, used slavery on a scale far below that practiced by European countries involved in the conquest and occupation of lands overseas, from the 16th century onwards. The needs for labor in the European colonies of America are evident in the typologies of their populations today and in the genocide suffered by the original peoples of the Caribbean, Brazil or the USA. Interestingly, there are about 4500 years ago, the construction of the Egyptian pyramids was made by employees, not by slaves, without the use of the wheel (!) but, with the presence of caregivers for the event of accident at work and, accountants to the measurement of working times!
It is known that Lisbon, in the sixteenth century, had a huge portion of the population of African slaves and even black youth groups "specialized" to get pregnant women slaves; subsequenly the owners get the profit from the sale of the offspring, as slaves, of course, under a factory logic... Very probably those gentlemen would be fervent Christians...
In the European context of the same century, the forced emigration of Muslims and Jews from the Iberian Peninsula, orchestrated by the kings, with the appropriation of property expelled and, the children… to be christianized. Columbus and Magellan carried out their exploits as emigrants in Spanish lands. Spinoza was the grandson of Portuguese emigrants and David Ricardo had in his ancestors an Iberian origin. Handel emigrated clandestinely to England where he was offered a far more interesting contract than in his native Saxony. The potato crisis in Ireland, in the 19th century, forced an important part of the Irish to emigrate to the USA; and, in Germany, whoever could, emigrated to escape the Hitlerian delirium. Italian and German emigrants of recent date fought against Hitler and Mussolini in the US army. Even when the memory is lost, History was designed by emigrants; we are all emigrants.
In more recent times, the economic disruption that capitalism causes in Africa, forces an emigration fraught with great risks to enter Europe, where reception is difficult, with people filling jobs with worse pay and lesser rights. The escape from Syria and Iraq, unstructured countries by the intervention of the so-called West (via ISIS) and under the baton of peace Nobel, Obama, sent millions of people into Europe. Receiving refugees is receiving cheap labour but there are quantitative limits; and so EU pays Turkey to retain four million potential migrants bound for Europe. In turn, Trump has erected a wall guarded and electrified to prevent the arrival of people coming from the South, impoverished by the action of American multinationals, by the elite of Creoles, etc...
In current times, the great facility in the circulation of information and bodies, produced by technologies, has made emigration commonplace within the European community. The inequalities between the various countries became enormous, which did not happen until the integration of Greece in 1981, followed by Spain, Portugal and, later, with the enlargements to the East, resulting from the dismantling of Comecon and Yugoslavia. Well-known inequalities as we have highlighted recently.
This context of mobility leaves to the countries of migrants origin the costs of technique formation, unbalances their age pyramids, fattening the upper echelons and tapering those nearby base; and, it offers to the destination countries, skilled labor or, devalued, precarious, when not despising the immigrants, and as object of violence from xenophobes and neo-nazis.
2 - Native population and resident foreigners
Let us observe the size and evolution, in recent years, of the population of European countries and the share of foreigners who live in each one of them, marking the cases of demographic reduction with a distinct color.
|
Europe - Total population and share of resident foreigners |
||||||||
|
|
thousands |
foreign residents (% of total
|
var. native pop. 2009/19 (thousands) |
var. foreign pop. 2009/19 (thousands) |
||||
|
|
2009 |
2014 |
2019 |
2009 |
2014 |
2019 |
||
|
Belgique |
10 753 |
11 181 |
11 456 |
9,4 |
11,1 |
12,5 |
703 |
429 |
|
Bulgarie |
7 467 |
7 246 |
7 000 |
0,5 |
0,8 |
1,5 |
-467 |
69 |
|
Tchéquie |
10 426 |
10 512 |
10 694 |
3,9 |
4,1 |
5,5 |
268 |
179 |
|
Danemark |
5 511 |
5 627 |
5 806 |
5,8 |
7,1 |
9,3 |
295 |
217 |
|
Allemagne |
82 002 |
80 767 |
83 019 |
8,8 |
8,7 |
12,5 |
1 017 |
3212 |
|
Estonie |
1 336 |
1 316 |
1 325 |
16,1 |
14,8 |
15,1 |
-11 |
-15 |
|
Irlande |
4 521 |
4 638 |
4 904 |
12,8 |
11,4 |
13,1 |
383 |
64 |
|
Grèce |
11 095 |
10 927 |
10 725 |
8,4 |
7,8 |
8,5 |
-370 |
-21 |
|
Espagne |
46 239 |
46 512 |
46 937 |
11,6 |
10,1 |
11,1 |
698 |
-160 |
|
France |
64 350 |
66 166 |
67 178 |
5,8 |
6,4 |
7,6 |
2 828 |
1387 |
|
Croatie |
4 310 |
4 247 |
4 076 |
- |
0,7 |
2,1 |
-234 |
55 |
|
Italie |
59 001 |
60 783 |
60 360 |
5,8 |
8,1 |
8,3 |
1 359 |
1637 |
|
Chypre |
797 |
858 |
876 |
15,6 |
18,6 |
18,4 |
79 |
36 |
|
Lettonie |
2 163 |
2 001 |
1 920 |
17,7 |
15,2 |
13,6 |
-243 |
-122 |
|
Lituanie |
3 184 |
2 943 |
2 794 |
1,0 |
0,7 |
2,4 |
-390 |
35 |
|
Luxembourg |
494 |
550 |
614 |
43,5 |
45,3 |
48,3 |
120 |
81 |
|
Hongrie |
10 031 |
9 877 |
9 773 |
1,9 |
1,4 |
2,0 |
-258 |
13 |
|
Malte |
411 |
429 |
494 |
4,1 |
6,8 |
20,9 |
83 |
86 |
|
Pays-Bas |
16 486 |
16 829 |
17 282 |
3,9 |
4,4 |
6,7 |
796 |
518 |
|
Autriche |
8 335 |
8 508 |
8 859 |
10,3 |
12,5 |
16,6 |
524 |
618 |
|
Pologne |
38 136 |
38 018 |
37 973 |
0,2 |
0,3 |
0,9 |
-163 |
283 |
|
Portugal |
10 563 |
10 427 |
10 277 |
4,2 |
3,8 |
5,7 |
-286 |
150 |
|
Roumanie |
20 440 |
19 947 |
19 414 |
- |
0,4 |
0,7 |
-1 026 |
66 |
|
Slovénie |
2 032 |
2 061 |
2 081 |
3,5 |
4,7 |
7,5 |
49 |
86 |
|
Slovaquie |
5 382 |
5 416 |
5 450 |
1,1 |
1,1 |
1,4 |
68 |
18 |
|
Finlande |
5 326 |
5 451 |
5 518 |
2,7 |
3,8 |
4,8 |
192 |
124 |
|
Suède |
9 256 |
9 645 |
10 230 |
5,9 |
7,1 |
9,1 |
974 |
380 |
|
Islande |
319 |
326 |
357 |
7,6 |
7,0 |
13,8 |
38 |
25 |
|
Liechtenstein |
36 |
37 |
38 |
32,7 |
33,8 |
34,9 |
2 |
1 |
|
Norvège |
4 799 |
5 108 |
5 328 |
6,3 |
9,4 |
11,3 |
529 |
301 |
|
Suisse |
7 702 |
8 140 |
8 545 |
21,7 |
23,8 |
25,4 |
843 |
504 |
|
Royaume-Uni |
62 042 |
64 351 |
66 647 |
6,8 |
7,8 |
9,3 |
4 605 |
1928 |
|
Total |
514 945 |
520 844 |
527 950 |
6,5 |
7,0 |
8,6 |
13 005 |
12290 |
In 2014, comparing to 2009, the population of European countries increased by 5.9 million people and 7.1 million in the following five years.
In 2014 all countries with population breaks are Baltic or Balkan; and Germany (minus 1.2 million) and Portugal are the only exceptions to those locations. Conversely, the main contributors to the demographic increase were the UK, France and Italy.
In 2019, the major contributors to the demographic increase are again the United Kingdom and France, and also Germany, with Romania and Italy appearing with the main population declines.
Portugal is the only country in Western Europe to show demographic declines in both periods, with a total of 286,000 inhabitants, with a population size very close to Sweden, which in 2009 had a population lower by 1.3 million.
In absolute numbers and in the considered decade, the main falls in the native population are registered in Romania (just over one million), followed by Bulgaria, Lithuania and Greece. Conversely, the largest population increases in 2009/19 take place in the United Kingdom (4.6 million), followed by France, Italy, Sweden and the Netherlands.
As for immigrants in European countries in 2009/19, the main flows were directed to Germany (3.2 million people), United Kingdom, France and Italy, knowing that in the first and the last of these countries, the arrival of refugees and migrants was due to the economic and political disruption promoted in Libya, Iraq and Syria; in addition to the actions of ISIS, armed by the US with money coming from the Gulf sultans. Those four countries incorporated 2/3 of the net increase in immigrants in that period.
The decreases in the immigrant population are registered in Spain (160 thousand), Latvia (122 thousand) and also Greece and Estonia, all with strong economic and financial difficulties during part of the decade.
The share of foreigners settled in European countries (including, in each nation-state, people coming from other European backgrounds) is growing, especially in the most recent period, since in 2009/14 the consequences of the financial crisis limited emigration. Thus, population coming from outside in Europe went from 6.5% in 2009 to 7% five years later but, reaching 8.6% in 2019, a result from the economic recovery related to the financial crisis.
Cyprus and Latvia are the only countries that reduced the weight of the foreign population, with a marginal importance in the case of the former; Latvia registers one continuous decrease of the weight of foreign or immigrant population.
The volume of foreign residents is particularly high (and growing) in Luxembourg, approaching half of the population (48.3%), followed by Liechtenstein, although with a very small total population, and Switzerland, where ¼ of the population has a outsider origin in 2019. Otherwise, in 2019, the smallest shares of resident foreigners are observed in Romania (0.7%), Slovakia (1.4%) and Bulgaria (1.5%).
For all European countries, the increase in the indigenous population in 2009/19 surpasses that of the foreign population, but only by a total of 715 thousand, which reveals the enormous importance of the emigrant population in the demographic evolution in those ten years. In more detailed terms, several situations are observed;
• Cases of increase in the indigenous population greater than the increase of immigrants – Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Iceland, Switzerland;
• Cases of increases in indigenous population less than the verified to immigrants - France, Ireland, Spain, Cyprus, Slovakia, Finland, Sweden, Norway, United Kingdom;
• Cases of increase in the indigenous population and reduction of immigrants – Germany, Malta, Austria, Slovenia;
• Cases of fall in the indigenous population smaller than the breaking of immigrants - Bulgaria, Greece, Croatia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Portugal, Romania;
• Cases of fall in indigenous population greater than the reduction in immigrants - Italy
As we have observed in other texts[1], Europe is a space of great inequalities; among the various nation-states, some are rich, others… not so much. Within each one, there is showed the presence of immigrants whose origin goes far beyond the European scene; those whose size is proportional to the degree of wealth of the host country; and the departure of emigrants from the various nation-states to other European countries but also outside Europe. Will the world walk towards being a great village?
This and other texts in:
http://grazia-tanta.blogspot.com/
http://www.slideshare.net/durgarrai/documents
https://pt.scribd.com/uploads ________________________________________
[1] Demography in Europe – a world of inequalities (2015-2020) http://grazia-tanta.blogspot.com/2021/04/demografia-na-europa-um-mundo-de.html
The evolution of wealth in Europe (2000/19) https://grazia-tanta.blogspot.com/2020/08/a-evolucao-da-riqueza-na-europa-200019.html
Portrait of inequalities in Europe - 1995/2018 (concl) https://grazia-tanta.blogspot.com/2020/02/retrato-das-desigualdades-na-europa.html
Inequalities in demographic dynamics in the Iberian Peninsula (1990/2019) https://grazia-tanta.blogspot.com/2020/07/desigualdades-na-dinamica-demografica.html
Portugal 2020, a poor and imprisoned people https://grazia-tanta.blogspot.com/2020/04/portugal-2020-um-povo-pobre-e.html
Europe - School difficulties for young people under 15 years old https://grazia-tanta.blogspot.com/2019/11/europa-dificuldades-escolares-de-jovens.html
School leaving in Europe (2000-2018) - 2nd part https://grazia-tanta.blogspot.com/2019/08/o-abandono-escolar-na-europa-2000-2018.html
Center and peripheries in Europe (2) - Portugal, a case of peripheral disaster https://grazia-tanta.blogspot.com/2018/10/center-and-peripheries-in-europe-2.html
Center and peripheries in Europe (3) - Portugal, an Iberian periphery https://grazia-tanta.blogspot.com/2018/10/centre-and-peripheries-3-portugal.html
Evolution of the world population 1950/2050 - The case of Europe http://grazia-tanta.blogspot.com/2018/07/evolution-of-world-population-19502050_16.html
Evolution of the world population 1950/2050 – The case of Europe https://grazia-tanta.blogspot.pt/2018/05/evolucao-da-populacao-mundial-19502050.html
Evolution of the world population 1950/2050 - The case of Europe http://grazia-tanta.blogspot.com/2018/07/evolution-of-world-population-19502050_16.html
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