Spain records lowest birth rate in eight decades

Spain's birth rate has fallen to its lowest level since 1941, with only 322,075 babies added to the country's population of 48.6 million in 2023, Reuters reported, citing data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE) on February 21.

Spain's birth rate fell 2% last year compared to 2022, adding to a nearly 25% decline over a decade. The decline has left Spain with the second-lowest birth rate in the European Union (EU), after Malta, according to Eurostat data.

Eurostat data shows Spain's rate is 1.19 births per woman compared to an EU average of 1.53, both well below the 2.1 level the current population needs to maintain.

Demographers and economists have called on Europe to reconsider efforts to boost falling birth rates while some regions in Spain have introduced financial incentives and tax deductions to encourage people to start families.

"Having children is no longer a common aspiration in life. Women want to have a career and want to do certain things before starting a family," Marta Seiz, a university professor in Madrid specializing in the sociology of families, demography and inequality, told Reuters .

Economic instability, unemployment, low-quality jobs and rising housing prices are some of the reasons why Spanish women are having children later or having fewer children than they originally planned, Professor Marta Seiz added. Although Spain has equalised maternity and paternity leave policies, these measures are not enough.

The decline in birth rates is also happening in France. On January 16, the French National Statistics Agency (INSEE) released figures showing that the country's birth rate in 2023 fell to its lowest level since World War II.

According to INSEE, about 678,000 children were born in 2023, down 6.6% from 2022 and the lowest level since 1946. With this number of newborns, the average birth rate in 2023 was 1.68 children per mother, lower than 1.79 in 2022.

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Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/tay-ban-nha-ghi-nhan-ti-le-sinh-thap-nhat-trong-8-thap-ky-a650939.html