Switzerland’s birth rate continues to fall
https://lenews.ch/2024/06/21/switzerlands-birth-rate-continues-to-fall/
by diacewrb
Switzerland’s birth rate continues to fall
https://lenews.ch/2024/06/21/switzerlands-birth-rate-continues-to-fall/
by diacewrb
22 comments
>The number of babies born in Switzerland fell to 80,024 in 2023, a birth rate of 1.33 per woman, reported RTS. As recently as 2021, 89,644 babies entered the world in Switzerland. Between 2021 and 2023, the number has fallen nearly 11%.
>In 2023, the fertility rate in Switzerland reached an historic low after trending down over the last decade. A doctor at a medical clinic in Geneva said a drop of around 20% over recent years can be observed across clinics in Geneva. She said there has been a fall in births across Switzerland, Europe and in countries such as Australia and the US since 2022.
>Why?
>Falling birth rates seem to be linked to the challenges of juggling work, home life and parenting faced by many women. In addition, the rising cost of having children and concerns about the environment are further dissuading potential parents.
>A demographer at EPFL explained to RTS that that as the population ages, the number of women of child bearing age in the population shrinks. This is a key driver of falling births. Environmental concerns also play a part, he said. Climate change concerns are dissuading some potential parents from having children for fear of adding further to the human impact on the planet.
>Some potential mothers decide to delay motherhood until their lives become more stable or until they have reached certain career milestones. As time goes by the chances of having a child fall. And when women start having children later, they are likely to have fewer of them.
>Government policies aimed at incentivising women to have more children have generally proved ineffective. Even in nations with generous maternity, paternity and childcare benefits, declining fertility can be observed. For example, in Sweden, a model for state subsidised parent and child support, the birth rate is in decline. Between 2010 and 2023, Sweden’s birthrate fell from [2.0](https://www.scb.se/en/finding-statistics/statistics-by-subject-area/population/population-composition/population-statistics/pong/tables-and-graphs/population-statistics—summary/swedens-population-in-summary-1960-2023/) to [1.5](https://www.scb.se/en/finding-statistics/statistics-by-subject-area/population/population-composition/population-statistics/pong/tables-and-graphs/population-statistics—summary/swedens-population-in-summary-1960-2023/), according to Statistics Sweden.
>Analysis by the [Economist](https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/05/23/why-paying-women-to-have-more-babies-wont-work) explains why paying women to have babies won’t work. It points out that more than half of the drop in America’s total fertility rate since 1990 is caused by a collapse in births among women under 19, many of which were unwanted teenage pregnancies. In addition, the return on investment is terrible. Schemes in Poland and France cost $1m-2m per extra birth. Only a tiny number of citizens are productive enough to generate generate a net payback on that kind of money.
>What can be done?
>Highly-skilled immigrants could fill some of the gap, but not indefinitely – global birth rates are in decline. Ultimately, older people will need to work longer to ease the economic load on a shrinking number of young people.
Good. We are too many
Migrants will save them, oh wait….
I like how the article just gives the same solution as always: More migrant. Just get more migrants.
More migrants are not the solution. More swiss people need to have children. That is the solution.
High standard of living -> higher cost -> more expensive to raise a family, the fate of every developed and developing nation
[deleted]
Invite some Syrians from Turkey then….
/S obviously.
Great!
Younger folks can’t get a decently paid job, affordable housing and one wonders why the natality rates are plummeting…
50 years ago, someone with a lower education would get a job, like being a gardener, could get a loan for a house and have a family. His grandchildren can’t afford any of this. This is a net effect of the financialisation of our world and the neoliberal policies allowing wealth to be monopolised by a small number of players. How sustainable is it?
Yet, the very privileged wealthy ones massively invest in the media industry as brainwashing the bigger numbers is the best way to protect their wealth and greed…
Hmmm, so archaic taxation of married couples and ranking third worst on paid maternity leave does not make people want to have kids? What to do?! https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2019/12/16/u-s-lacks-mandated-paid-parental-leave/
Having kids is a huge drawback. And I have two kids which I deeply love but I am just being honest. Its like working two 40h jobs were you not getting payed on one but instead need to pay to work.
And sure lots of this 40h week is nice and great but it’s also lot of time not nice.
People now comming out of university and complaining that a normal 40h work week is so thought and they cannot do it.
Well guess what kids will add 40h more of work on your shoulders.
So no surprises that in countries where kids are not seen as a backup or financial rescue the birthrate is declining.
Emancipation of women and shit salaries/very high CoL. People want to live their lives not drown in debt and waste time nursing kids.
HCOL
Fund birth, like giving people with 2+ children tax benefits.
Well, government thinks that immigration is cheaper than preventing decline in birth rate.
Half the world has a dropping birth rate. This isn’t anything new. Costs of living are way too high. Thanks corona.
Same story as the rest of Europe:
Low paying jobs (for the local economy)
High rent/low access to housing
High number of working hours.
Children were raised in comunity always except last 30 years. I grew up in the 90s with grandparents, aunties, cousins, all 15 minutes close, my neighbours often looked after me when parents left me alone at home, now people call social services for that.
How can both parents to work, when daycare is only 3 hours? What job to find? And to find a job you should move to big city with grandparent, who also have to work till age of70. These clowns made this problem
I see a lot of comments that blame the economy and I have to disagree. If you make enough sacrifices, you can absolutely raise kids with very little. The Romas in Bulgaria average a fertility rate over 3 and live in absolute slums with little income. They just care about continuing the bloodline more than they care about their status. It’s a matter of priorities. We have to ask ourselves – why have our priorities shifted and more people are choosing not to have kids?
I believe the talk about the state of the economy is just masking the real problem.
Education takes much longer than 50 years ago. A lot people are usually done in their mid2late twenties. Then you probably need to move to find a job which will fuck your social live. If you were lucky, you found someone before that, but I think most don’t or it doesn’t last. You are maybe 30 when you reach a somehow secure state of living (which some never reach). You want to date, maybe even have a family. But even the first step dating feels impossible. Potential love interests live too far or schedules don’t match up or this or that.
Meanwhile society shouts at you for being lazy and too needy. Why don’t you have 5 children like your grandma did at your age?
In my opinion, unless they turn the whole system upside-down, this isn’t fixable.
I miss the point
why does a population need to constantly grow?
Birth rates in countries around the world have been declining, mainly in wealthier nations, as economic instability and uncertainty over events like the pandemic discourage people from having children.
Whoohooo!!! Welcome to the club Switzerland! You aren’t a lone with 13-15 other countries worldwide with the same thing occurring in society.