The EU’s births hit record low with 3.8 million babies born in 2022 as the average fertility rate is now 1.46
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by No_Pudding2959
The EU’s births hit record low with 3.8 million babies born in 2022 as the average fertility rate is now 1.46
https://i.redd.it/iauz1wsc68nd1.jpeg
by No_Pudding2959
25 comments
Most couples 20-30 who are supposed to start families can’t even afford a single bedroom apartment with combined salaries.
Maybe start fixing the housing?
It’s a complex problem nobody really understands fully, but I bet at least part of the reason is that older generations are hogging all the properties. I am reluctant to commit to having kids if I have to pay a third or more of our income for rent or a mortgage of a place where we could fit comfortably with 2+ kids.
Think about how many elderly people you know of who live in a house or an apartment that’s vastly bigger than they really need. If these places were made available to people with children at reasonable prices, it could at least start making a dent in the falling birth rates.
I marry in October, my fiancee wants at least 3 children, me 4.. wish us luck!
Soon the USA will surpass the EU in total yearly number of births.
In the long run, infertile cultures are replaced by fertile cultures, so Europe will become fertile again.
We spend 70% of our joint income on a house and childcare for 3 kids to be able to live and go to work and have a career. Without arrogance, but I’m in the top 10% of income for my age group. It’s bloody insane.
Across the street there is a row of 8 houses, all 2M+ € each, all owned by babyboomers. 200+ m2, 6+ bedrooms, a garden, perfect for families. But the owners are never there because they’re enjoying their second houses in Spain, France, Italy. And when it’s winter they’re enjoying their third in Austria or Switzerland, because one cannot live without multiple ski trips every year.
I can’t blame young people for choosing not to have kids. There is something fundamentally wrong how we divided wealth over generations. We need a redistributing inheritance tax before all these people die. Because these people are also the majority of the electorate, with their relentless desire to return to the 1970s and all the policy that creates.
This is first and foremost a cultural problem. My guess, looking at the generation born post 2000, the numbers are going to drop further. It’s not about housing, it’s about attitude to life.
There are other factors of course but I speak I am in big trouble
Wow crazy and thats when we did.. *check notes* ..nothing to create a child-friendly setting
So we are saving the enviroment after all. Yay!
Homes, housing, money, wages
There are several reasons for this but I would say by far the most important one is that a lot of people do not want to have a child or even marry in the first place. When I hear women my age (around 30) talk about their future plans, almost nobody comes up with kids or getting married. Most want to focus on their careers, enjoying life and self fullfillment. Same goes for men as well btw.
For those who want to have kids, other factors are more important; cost of childcare, cost for raising kids, cost of housing and stagnating wages. I know people who have two kids and are in the top 5% income group and they are struggling to pay their bills. Childcare + housing easily takes 65-75% of their net income.
Another important factor is just how hostile most societies have become towards children and families. In some countries, you will struggle a lot if you want to rent an appartment with kids. There is also a lot of people who have no tolerance towards kids being around them because kids are “loud” and “annoying”. Some people even say that having kids makes you a lower class individual. Society seemingly has just given up on caring for kids and families.
But our society and our politicians sure as hell do care a lot about the wellbeing of pensioners – and this will just get worse and worse since fewer kids means fewer young voters which means the elderly will just outvote the young ones and force them to work more for their pensions. Which means: Fewer children. rinse and repeat.
No worries! Population growth in the EU is growing massively another way, so we are fine…
I surely won’t put another person into this dystopian nightmare just to be new slaves for bezos/musk et. al.
Cost of houses and anxiety with modern technologies allowing people to get entertained without spending their time with other people.
Nobody without a flat/house thinks about getting married or having children.
Nobody with an anxiety is willing to get even more anxiety by becoming a parent.
Nobody who never goes out with other people and who doesn’t do activities with them in free time ever meets other men/women with an exception of dating apps but all I ever hear is that most people there are mentally ill or are just trying to figure out their sexuality, that’s what people who used dating apps said they were told on dates by people they dated, not me.
I would say that those three areas have most influence. And if anyone asked for source: My Ass.
Ban corporations from owning homes. BLACKROCK should own 0 homes . Also ban individuals from owning more than 3 homes . Call me a commie all you want , i m the opposite of that .
What pension do to a population.
Cost of living will do this to you, unfortunately.
Day care in my city cost 500€ a month, rents are going up and when one bedroom apartment is enough for a couple when the child comes you need a bigger flat with second bedroom. In the last 5 or so years everyday stuff nearly doubled in price. Electricity and heating went up but wages are still the same.
Having a child became a luxury, no wonder that responsible people do the calculations and often come to a conclusion that they simply can’t afford a child and ideally there should be two or three per family.
At least 70 % of this is housing problem coupled with people moving to cities.
Pay people less, while enriching the rich, lower the quality of life and charge them more for living, and strangely people have less kids.. who would have guessed…
Who can afford many children now? Who has the time?
I have, I would love to have two more, but I can’t afford it.
Pakistan alone as more births than all of the EU .
Gotta pump out more babies for cheap labor and tax burden mules. Taxing the tax dodging rich in order to pay for pensions is unimaginable. 🤡 💰
Who have time to have a child? I am having a moral crisis whether I have time to get a dog, a child would put me into a coma.
good. we need less babies and less immigrants. less popoulation = more resources = live better than other countries