Society needs children

The country’s birth rate has collapsed in recent years and has never been lower. It now averages one in six children per woman. The fertility rate would have to be one in two to maintain the population, but you have to go back to 2012 to find that number. New data from the Office for National Statistics reveals this. It says 70 fewer children were born last year than the year before, for a total of 4,315 children.

Fewer older mothers and those who want children

It used to be much more common for women to have their first child in their 30s, but since 2019, the vast majority of women have had their first child in their 40s. This is thought to be one of the reasons for the falling birth rate, said Sanna Simonardottir, a postdoctoral researcher and assistant professor at the University of Iceland.

“Women are having children later and later, and the group deciding not to have children is larger than before,” Sanner said.

A strong welfare system does not necessarily produce more children

The same trend started earlier elsewhere in the Nordic countries, with Finland, for example, having a birth rate of about one in two children per woman last year. Sanner said people there are having fewer children despite communities seen as having strong welfare systems.

“There is evidence that something else is going on.” Reversing the trend is complicated because there are so many factors involved. For example, studies show that people of childbearing age experience more risk than before, which may affect their desire to have children,” Sunna said.

Society needs children

So far, the decline has not affected the country’s population because of how many immigrants settle here, but that could change.

“Then we’re in trouble because there will be too few people to maintain our systems, infrastructure and welfare. This is the challenge many countries are facing now, and it’s important not to underestimate the challenges ahead,” Sunna said.

We need to pay more attention to the reproductive age population in this country.

“We need to think about better infrastructure so that people can imagine having children here. It is obvious that we need to bridge the gap between maternity leave and day care. It is necessary to create the best conditions for parents to have children,” Sunna concluded.