CEE: net migration outflows to slow sharply this decade

Economies in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have experienced large and persistent net migration outflows in recent decades, but the tide has shifted in the past five years or so as outflows have dropped sharply. This is likely to continue, with net outward migration set to run at a much slower rate than in the past and cushion the blow from negative natural population change. We expect populations to continue falling in CEE this decade, but net migration should limit that to 0.1-0.2% per year on average (vs. 0.2-0.4% in the 2010s).