The fertility rate in Netherlands has just dropped to a record-low, and now stands at 1.43 children per woman
by ShoulderSpiritual333
The fertility rate in Netherlands has just dropped to a record-low, and now stands at 1.43 children per woman
by ShoulderSpiritual333
34 comments
2023 was a tough year for European demographics. Every single European country reported a decline in births, compared to the previous year, except [Portugal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Portugal#Vital_statistics_since_1900). [The amount of annual births in Germany](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Germany) is down 7.5% for instance, in[ Romania](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Romania#Vital_statistics) they have declined by 9%, and in [France](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_France#Vital_statistics_from_1900) by 7%. Since every EU country already has fertility-rates below the replacement level of 2.1, these recent declines are quite worrying.
The number of annual births in the EU has declined from [6.8m in 1964, to 3.7m in 2023](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_European_Union#Vital_statistics). The number of births in the US in the same time frame has gone from 4m to 3.6m. So we have finally reached parity with our neighbors from across the Atlantic.
And I know some of you guys will celebrate this, and say we need less people on the planet, and it is good for the environment, and so on. Well, guess what, people will still have kids, even if Europeans decide to stop having them. The world moves on without us. [Pakistan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Pakistan), for instance, now has twice as many annual births than all of the 27 EU countries *combined.* The same is true for Nigeria, and will probably soon be true for Congo and Ethiopia. Or take a look at [Afghanistan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Afghanistan). In 1960, 22 Europeans were born for each Afghan, and now it has declined to less than 2. This is despite the fact that the EU has 10x the population of Afghanistan. Which means within a lifetime, it will decline to 2x or maybe even reach parity, as the number of annual births in Afghanistan continues to grow, and the same number for EU continues to decline.
I am not saying we should become like Afghanistan, but that people shouldn’t pat themselves on the back for not having children and thereby “saving the environment” when it couldn’t be further from the truth. People will still have children, elsewhere. You aren’t helping the world at all by not having childen. It won’t even be noticed by the planet, really. Only 4% of all newborns in the world are Europeans. We are not saving the environment by having that number fall to 2% or 1%.
The problem is really that people can’t afford housing, daycare and other costs.
Moet likely this trend will continue for at least the next 15 years.
We are entering the phase of boomers retiring and depending on the working population. Adding a huge amount of unproductive children is not something society can afford right now.
After 2040, most of the boomers will have passed and there will be more space to return to replacement levels of fertility.
Long-term, something like 10-12 million is a perfect population for the Netherlands.
The transition to sustainability will take some time.
Simple answer? Kids are too expensive for regular couples with an income below 6 figures.
I work in a team of 14 people, all between 25 and 45. The age where people buy houses, marry, have children.
None of us owns a house, one guy is married with one kid.
We are fucked in europe.
Give me free daycare and lower interest rate on mortgage – we will immediately have a more kids!
It’s all about money. We won’t make kids we can’t support.
As a 19 year old European, I would love to have 2-3 kids when I’m older. But it feels like that’s not gonna be possible until i’m like 35.
We’re very aware of the climate related issues we’d pass on to our children.
No nut Netherlands.
It also has to do with the fact Dutch people don’t want a lot of kids, if they want kids.
Not really surprising. There’s plenty any affordable housing to begin with.
It’s not about standards of living, but access to housing
At this rate, European natives will become a minority in their own homelands in the next hundred or so years.
I do not want to have children. Having to be around them in public places and during social gatherings has made me informed enough to decide that, for my own well being, it’s not worth the time and money.
Kids used to be a lot like livestock. Free labour, caretaking, maybe some fullfillment on top of it, and when you got old, they helped you too.
Now they’re either destined to be low-paid losers – or are a constant, monstrous investment. And afterwards they don’t owe you anything. I think it’s better than ever to be a kid… but it’s a game for the rich.
as a canadian now in netherlands, with just one kid: it wasn’t just climate or some sense of lazy don’t wanna herd of kids. it was costs, in canada, primarily, and the lack of housing that could accomodate 4 people. we lived in a cramped 1br. we knew of families with three kids crushed into the selfsame 1br style. why? for 3k a month rent, never mind now you need both parents to work and oh, the cost of childcare ( pre daycare changes in canada, and i gather the same is in play here.)
not every family wants to live on a remote farm and have 8 kids. nor should we. I had the pregnancy from hell, so no, there was no second kid coming.
until governments kind of get it thru their thick noggins about why the birthrates are dropping, nothing’s gonna change. mind you, i don’t think my grandparents era of 5-8 kids was a sustainable thing either.
Houses have become unaffordable. Im earning well over €50k a year and I can’t even afford a studio. I don’t even live in any of the major cities and my income is considered too high for social housing.
When the government makes kids impossible to afford and does not allow homes to be built, why the fuck would anyone have kids?
Europe speed running its self suicide since 1914
– “A.I. is going to make 50% of jobs obsolete. ”
– “We need more people.”
Birth rate. Not “fertility” rate.
Where I live now I will literally be evicted if I get pregnant and have a baby. I’m on the waiting list for a house for over 8 years now. A place to live is still not in sight. I’m not gonna bring a baby into the world just for it to be homeless.
Upper middle class life is incompatible with getting pregnant in time.
The fertility rate will continue to fall across the western world unless the governments start to realize that people wont make families and make children unless they have a normal happy life. People want free time, people want homes, people want stability and until that is a fact not a feat or bonus we’ll keep seeing falling fertility rates.
To toss in a very different opinion to what I’ve seen in this thread – for the first time ever, it’s not totally taboo to say “I don’t like kids”. And a growing amount of people understand why this opinion exists.
For context, my partner and I are both set to get engineering jobs in the highest paid fields. We could absolutely afford to have 2-3 kids in the next few years. But we don’t like them. We don’t want to take care of them, we want to move around, travel, pursue hobbies, take risks, retire early. Obviously there are external concerns which could be addressed by governments like climate change but, in essence, the main reason remains. Luckily for us, there is also less pressure from society since other couples have also stopped having kids, though for different reasons. I’m glad people are generally more accepting to the stance that kids simply aren’t for everyone.
Wow it’s almost like both housing and daycare are unaffordable!
High stress jobs, high housing prices, high stress news/social media so why would I creates high stress home environment with kids at home?
No, I’m just going to do me and enjoy life on my terms as much as possible.
There are several factors at play here:
First, money. People in rich countries have grown used to the comforts of a wealthy life which they don’t intend to lose. Having a child means a drastic disturbance is this comfort, meaning people’s life standard would decrease. They don’t want that.
Second, time. Time is more valuable than ever and people want to spend it in a selfish way, doing things for themselves (working to improve career, traveling, partying etc) as such 20 years of emotional commitment to a human being is not appealing, at least not until later in life
Third, perhaps the world really has too many people. The human population growth was stable for much of history, but after the Industrial revolution it exponentially increased, but exponential growth couldn’t be forever, at some point it would inevitably stop
It’s funny everyone in the comments basically saying “gimme free stuff then I’ll have kids” which is obviously untrue. Just take a look at the Nordic countries they have the highest quality of life with plenty of childcare benefits and good working hours yet they still have the same abysmal birth rate as the rest of Europe
And yet the population is growing
Good! That means higher pay right?
1.43 is still a high number compared to other really doomed countries like South Korea
It’s not about having the money it’s about people not wanting to give up their lavish lifestyle.
When you have a child you can’t think only about yourself anymore.
People who want children will always find a way
God , don’t I love when people from rich European countries are complaining how they don’t make enough money to support their children.
I wonder what people here think about even immigrants not having kids. Lots of women from 3rd world countries come here to live freely without having pressure to breed. My brother and I won’t have kids and our bloodline dies with us. Many think like us.