Ecuador’s population is growing more slowly and is facing an increasingly aging phase. This was reported by the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC) during a population workshop that analyzed statistics on marriages, divorces, births and deaths over the past twelve years. The aim of the workshop was to discuss and raise awareness of the importance of the implications of population decline.

Ecuador planned for the population to exceed 18 million in this new census, but that will no longer be the case. This analysis was done outside the official data of the Population and Housing Census 2022, which was conducted last year, and which will be published on September 21.

Based on this previous data, INEC Director, Roberto Castillo, explained, “Less children will be born and we will have more elderly adults to take care of,” he explained.

He indicated that there were important demographic factors in the last twelve years that were not taken into account in 2010. Among them he cites the pandemic, the earthquake and the economic contraction.

In addition, decisions were made, especially those about postponing the time to have children. At the event, Roberto Castillo, director of the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC), explained that, for example, in 2001, women married at an average age of 27, but in 2010, the average age was 29; Namely, in ten years, this age has been moved by two years, but in the last ten years, the average age for getting married has increased from 27 to 32, i.e. five years more. “For demographers, this is a game changer,” he said.

In this regard, he indicated that the number of live births estimated by INEC in 2010 now has a new picture, mainly due to the change in fertility behaviour. This is the average number of children a woman of reproductive age has.

This change in behavior can be the result of several factors:

Castillo emphasized the importance of data for future planning.