Pope Francis has asked Italians to have more children amid Europe's falling birth rates.
On Friday (May 10), the Pope called for long-term policies to help families and warned the declining birth rate was threatening the country's future.
“The number of births is the first indicator of the hope of a people,” Pope Francis said during an annual gathering of pro-family groups. “Without children and young people, a country loses its desire for the future.”
Italy’s birth rate has continued to fall, making it one of the lowest in the world. It reached a record low last year with only 379,000 babies born.
The right-wing government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has also launched a new campaign to encourage at least 500,000 births annually by 2033.
Demographers say this rate is necessary to prevent the economy from collapsing under the weight of Italy’s ageing population.
Why are birth rates falling across Europe?
Marta Seiz, a Madrid-based university professor of family sociology, demography and inequalities, told Reuters in February 2024 that factors such as soaring housing costs and job insecurity were linked to Spain’s fertility rate, at 1.19 second lowest in Europe after Malta's.
"People would like to have children and they would like to have them earlier but they have not been able to do so for structural reasons," she said.
Reuters reported that in a 2023 country review, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) suggested reasons for the fall including changing gender roles; greater focus on careers; and even how social media can amplify a sense of insecurity.
It concluded, however, that the slump remained a mystery.
Where are birth rates falling in Europe?
Statistics show birth rates are declining across most of Europe. Reuters reported that the continent’s fertility rate has been around 1.5 births per woman for the past decade. Reuters said this was above the lows seen in East Asia, but far short of the 2.1 needed to maintain population levels.
Births in Europe reached their lowest point since the 1960s in 2022. The EU statistical office Eurostat said only 3.88 million babies were born compared with more than double 60 years ago.
Western Europe usually has lower birth rates than Eastern Europe, though both regions are below replacement levels (2.1 births per woman).
Some countries, such as France, have higher birth rates than others (1.79 births per woman in 2022). However, projections show a decline there too.
Birth rates are also declining in Greece. In 2022, it reportedly recorded the lowest number of births in 92 years due to the debt crisis. This led to years of austerity and emigration and changed young people's attitudes.
Reuters reported that European governments were spending spending billions of euros on top of basic welfare provision to fund pro-child measures. These include outright cash incentives for children, tax breaks for larger families, paid parental leave, and child benefits.
Are UK birth rates declining?
Birth rates in the UK have fallen to a record low this year. The Guardian reported that campaigners warned that “procreation has become a luxury item”.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed “total fertility”, calculated based on the birth rate across different age groups, fell to 1.49 children per woman in 2022.
The Guardian reported that the rate needed to maintain a steady population without significant immigration is 2.1.
Dr Mary-Ann Stephenson of the Women’s Budget Group, which campaigns for more support for families, told the Guardian in February 2024: “We need the babies who are born now, because they will be the people whose taxes pay for our health care. These will be the people looking after us in our old age. These will be the doctors and nurses and care workers of the future.”
Which European countries have the lowest birth rates?
The Central Intelligence Agency’s website here provides estimated details about these.
Ukraine 1.22
Moldova 1.26
Italy 1.26
Spain 1.3
Poland 1.32
Bosnia and Herzegovina 1.38
Greece 1.41
Belarus 1.45
Portugal1.45
Croatia 1.46
