Approaching new low birth record for Norway in 2018
In 2017, the birth rate in Norway was at a record low, with the expected number of children born per woman at 1.62. The birth rate continued to fall in the first three quarters of this year.
The arrows for Norwegian fertility go straight downward reported Klassekampen newspaper. A decade ago, in 2009, Norway was one of the most fertile countries in Europe, and it was expected that women in Norway would give birth to 1.98 children each according to Statistics Norway (SSB). Since then, it has gone downwards, to reaching rock bottom last year, and now it seems to be even lower.
“Birth rates up to and including the third quarter are at a lower level than in 2017. In the first three quarters, more than 1,100 fewer children were born than in the corresponding period in 2017,” said adviser in Statistics Norway, Espen Andersen.
The final birth rate for 2018 will be published on February 22nd, 2019.
According to a recent research report by the Department of Social Research, the main reason for the decline is that both parents are in full employment, so they choose to stop at two children and drop a third child. Longer education and economics weigh heavily when people estimate how many children they will have.
© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today
