The total fertility rate of 1.41 children per mother, is one of the lowest in the world, below the replacement rate of 2.1, it remains considerably below the high of 6.18 children born per woman in 1885. Since 1991, Croatia's death rate has continuously exceeded its birth rate. Croatia subsequently has one of the oldest populations in the world, with the average age of 43.3 years. Since the late 1990s, there has been a positive net migration into Croatia, reaching a level of more than 26,000 net immigrants in 2018. The Croatian Bureau of Statistics forecast that the population may shrink to 3.85 million by 2061, depending on actual birth rate and the level of net migration. The population of Croatia rose steadily from 2.1 million in 1857 until 1991, when it peaked at 4.7 million, with exception of censuses taken in 1921 and 1948, i.e. following two world wars. The natural growth rate of the population is currently negative with the demographic transition completed in the 1970s. In recent years, the Croatian government has been pressured each year to increase permit quotas for foreign workers, reaching an all-time high of 68.100 in 2019. In accordance with its immigration policy, Croatia is trying to entice emigrants to return.