'It's harder than ever to raise a family on the Island'

Population analyst's concerns as numbers continue to decline

'It's harder than ever for young people to raise a family'.

That's the view of the author of the 'Isle of Man Population Atlas'  as the decade-long decline in births on the Island continued to fall throughout 2020.

Deaths also exceeded births by 278 - giving the largest natural decline in numbers since the 1980s.

Paul Craine says the population of the Island is looking 'vulnerable':

Mr Craine says, currently, for every person aged between 20-29 that arrives on the Island, two leave.

Listen to Paul Craine's full interview with Manx Radio's Lewis Foster below: