UK faces ‘child desert’ situation

According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for 2023, the average fertility rate in England and Wales is only 1.44 children per woman of childbearing age, while the ideal number is 2.1. Experts fear that this situation will lead to population decline, a shortage of working-age workers, causing economic problems and the phenomenon of dependence on immigration to maintain the population.

Some areas record particularly low birth rates, known as “child deserts”. The city of London is the lowest, with just 0.55 children per woman. This is followed by Cambridge with 0.91 and Brighton & Hove with 0.98. Wales and the North West of England recorded the sharpest decline in birth rates, from 1.46 to 1.39. Only 20% of British women give birth before the age of 25, the lowest rate ever.

Many factors lead to the decline in birth rates. Accordingly, women today choose not to have children to enjoy an independent life. Others delay having children to focus on their careers. For men, increased obesity can also negatively affect fertility.

The pressure of living expenses, especially the cost of raising children and housing, is also a factor that causes couples to delay or decide to have fewer children. Dr Bassel Wattar, associate professor of reproductive medicine at Anglia Ruskin University, said the data “reflects a worrying trend”.

“This may be due to the cost of living crisis and financial difficulties making couples reluctant to have more than two children. The situation is further aggravated by the National Health Service (NHS) budget for Fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) are being cut back, contributing to falling birth rates in the UK,” he added.

Professor Melinda Mills, an expert in demography and population health at Oxford University, said people are actively delaying or giving up having children due to difficulties finding a partner, housing, and instability. economic, study longer.

Professor Jonathan Portes, an economist and public policy expert at King’s College London, said that in the short term, the number of fewer children born will reduce the pressure on spending on schools and subsidies. However, in the long term, this means that the number of workers is small, and there is a lot of pressure to support an increasing aging population.

The ONS report shows the average age of fathers has increased to 33.8. The average age of the mother remained stable at 30.9. In general, women tend to have children later, or not at all. By comparison, nearly 60% of women born in the 1940s had at least one child before the age of 25, today this number has dropped to 20%.

Britain is not the only country experiencing a decline in birth rates. Earlier this year, scientists warned that 75% of countries will face this problem by 2050.

Experts warn of threats related to the global population. Some countries are taking action to try to reverse this trend. France is planning to offer free “reproductive health checks” to all young people aged 18 to 25 to tackle the “problem” of infertility, according to President Emmanuel Macron.