Babies wanted: Nordic countries struggle with falling birth rates

PAYING FOR PREGNANCIES

Experts present differing diagnoses and prescriptions to remedy the situation.

In Norway, one economist concerned about the effect the slowing demographics will have on economic growth
Babies wanted: Nordic countries struggle with falling birth rates, Europe News & Top Stories - The Straits Times 19/8/19, 5(29 PM has suggested
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Straits Times 19/8/19, 5(29 PM

Another has suggested that, on the contrary, women in Norway who reach the age of 50 without having had a
child should be paid one million kroner, since children also cost society a lot.

Finnish municipalities have already decided to loosen their purse strings to encourage locals to get busy under
the covers.

" The town of Miehikkala, home to 2,000 people, is offering

€10,000 (S$15,450)for each baby born and raised in the
municipality.

"The number of childless individuals is growing rapidly, and

the number of women having three or more children is going
down. This kind of fall is unheard of in modern times in
Finland," said Ms Anna Rotkirch, a family sociologist at the
umbrella organisation Finnish Family Federation.

Related Story In Denmark, Copenhagen has meanwhile turned its

attention to men, who are in less of a hurry to become
Now, even France suffers 'baby blues'
parents than women, with a campaign aimed at raising
awareness about how sperm quality declines with age.
"
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IMMIGRATION BOOST
S. Europe's birth rate falls to crisis levels
The Nordic region already boasts a wealth of family-friendly
"There will be fewer young people to bear the increasingly heavy burden of the welfare state," said Norway's Prime Minister Erna initiatives, such as flexible working hours, a vast network of
Solberg. PHOTO: REUTERS
" affordable daycares and generous parental leave systems.
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Developing nations' rising birth rates fuel global
! PUBLISHED JAN 17, 2019, 12:52 PM SGT baby boom
But when all that is still not enough to encourage people to
have more children, immigration can be a lifeline - or a
OSLO (AFP) - "Norway needs more children! I don't think I need to tell anyone how this is done," Norway's threat, depending on the point of view.
prime minister said cheekily, but she was raising a real concern.
Sweden may have a falling birth rate, but it still comes in second in the European Union, behind France, with
Too few babies are being born in the Nordic region. 1.85 children born per woman in 2016.

The Nordic countries were long a bastion of strong fertility rates on an Old Continent that is rapidly getting That is largely due to Sweden's decades-long history of immigration: immigrant women tend to have more
older. children than the average Swede.

But they are now experiencing a decline that threatens their cherished welfare model, which is funded by With 2.6 children per woman in recent years, the town of Aneby in southern Sweden has one of the highest rates
taxpayers. in the country, a phenomenon attributed to the fact that it opened its doors to immigrants two decades ago.

"In the coming decades, we will encounter problems with this model," Prime Minister Erna Solberg warned
Norwegians in her New Year's speech. "There will be fewer young people to bear the increasingly heavy burden
of the welfare state."
In Norway, Finland and Iceland, birth rates dropped to historic lows in 2017, with 1.49 to 1.71 children born per
woman. Just a few years earlier, their birth rates hovered close to the 2.1 level required for their populations to
remain stable.
"Aneby welcomed around 225 Eritreans in the early 1990s and just after that (it took in) refugees from the
Balkans. 1994 was a demographic record for the town," local official Ola Gustafsson told AFP.
But population growth among minorities has also fuelled fears.
A former justice minister in Norway, Mr Per-Willy Amundsen of the populist far-right, made headlines when he
called for family allowances to be reduced after a third child.

"In all of the Nordic countries, birth rates started dropping in the years after the 2008 financial crisis," University His stated goal was to stop Somalis who, he said, had a higher "birth production" rate than "ethnic Norwegians".
of Oslo sociologist Trude Lappegard told AFP. "The crisis is over now but it's still falling."

From Copenhagen to the North Cape, from Helsinki to Reykjavik, demographics across the Nordics reveal two
things: there are fewer large families, and women are waiting longer before having their first child. Unlock more articles at just $0.99/month
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There's no single explanation, but financial uncertainty and a sharp rise in housing costs are seen as likely months*.
factors.
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In the long term, this means there will be fewer people of working age to pay taxes that fund the generous state
welfare systems.

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