Article
Why don’t women have all the children they say they want?
-
1Spain has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, and women on average postpone their first birth beyond age 30.
-
2The fertility rate is 1.3 (2019), but average desired fertility hovers around two children. Around 19% of women aged 45 and older are childless. In most European countries, fertility is higher and childlessness less prevalent. In Sweden, for example, the fertility rate is 1.7 and only 13% of women over age 45 are childless.
-
3Couples in Spain have a hard time setting up their lives before moving into parenthood. Reasons for not achieving the desired number of children vary by age, but economic circumstances and delayed partnership formation are at the top of the list.
-
4Young adults have a hard time establishing economic independence. Spain has among the highest rates of youth unemployment and temporary work in Europe.
-
5Partnership formation is delayed in part due to economic instability and changing expectations about relationships. Rising rates of cohabitation, divorce, and out-of-wedlock births have changed the traditional life cycle.
-
6Compared to other European countries, Spain lacks generous public policies to support families, and companies lack good work-family balance policies.