It’s hard to think of Costa Rica, a Latin American developing nation, as a country with a falling birthrate and an aging population. That’s exactly what the National Institute of Statistics and Census (known as INEC by its Spanish acronym) has indicated according to its preliminary census numbers released just days before Christmas 2011.

From 1984 to 2000, the population growth of Costa Rica averaged 2.8 percent on an annual basis, which translated into a birthrate of 19.9 (children per thousand inhabitants). In the first decade of the 21st century, the birthrate dropped to 15.5, which indicates a slowdown in the population growth rate to just 1.1 percent. Demographers associate this percentage with the fertility rate of a nation, and it is a worrisome trend.

Costa Rican ladies outnumber men by almost 9,000, or 2 percent, a statistic consistent with other countries in the region, yet they aren’t having babies in the same numbers as in the past.

The Plight of the Elderly and the Burden on the Young

Falling birthrates have been considered to be serious matters of concern in Western societies since the beginning of the New Century. A 2006 article in the New York Times commented on the historic and prolonged plunge of birthrates across Europe and how much of a sensitive issue it has become for industrialized nations. Vladimir Putin, then President of Russia, called the diminished rate of population growth in his country a critical issue.

Key factors contributing to the shrinkage in the sizes of families in Costa Rica fall squarely upon the shoulders of Ticas. Costa Rican women have gotten more educated over the last few decades, and as a result they have also joined the ranks of the workforce in greater number. It’s easier to express in comparative and quantitative terms: the more educated Ticas become, the less babies they are likely to give birth to. Ticas who choose to stay longer in school will get the choice career opportunities, and accordingly will become less likely to get married at a younger age or choose to raise a large family.

In some member nations of the European Union where falling birthrates were unthinkable several decades ago, a sharply higher life expectancy is worrying demographers. In France, Italy and Spain, there are fewer young people to care for elderly parents and grandparents. This is exacerbating a situation which in the United States and Canada has been called the “sandwich generation”, adults who must care for their elderly parents, grandparents, and even their own children. It’s a quite a burden to shoulder, and that’s where Ticos may be headed if the trends revealed by the INEC continue.

Another surprising statistic from INEC is the change in immigration patterns. A lesser percentage of immigrants have decided to settle in Costa Rica from 2000 to 2011, at least when compared to the immigration explosion the country experienced during from the 1980s until the end of the 20th century. A contrasting statistic is the number of Ticos who have moved abroad since 2000. That trend has increased, and it’s easy to think about Ticas traveling abroad to seek greater educational opportunities, thereby postponing childbearing. INEC promises to have more detailed figures in the months to come.