The birth rate in France continues to decline. In 2022, approximately 726,000 children will be born on French soil, according to estimates a report Published on Thursday, September 28 by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee). This represents a decrease of 16 thousand births compared to 2021, a decrease of 2.2%.
Since 2011, the number of births has only decreased in France, except for a slight recovery in 2021. “A year affected by closures and cancellation of quarantine due to the health crisis”INSEE specifies.
There are 12.8% fewer babies born in 2022 than there were in 2010. The size of this group is also 20.8% smaller than in 1971, which saw the peak of births, at 916,370 newborns.
The average age of motherhood is rising
Between 2021 and 2022, the decline in birth rates will be largest among mothers aged 25 to 29 (-2.7%) and 30 to 34 (-3.6%), two age groups that concentrate the majority of births. Only women over 40 have more children than before (+ 3.3%), “Long term trend”According to the National Institute of Statistics. The average age of mothers at birth rose from 30.2 to 31.2 within ten years.
Births are declining in France, but they have fallen more in neighboring countries: – 4.9% in the entire European Union between 2021 and 2022. In Estonia and Greece, fertility is collapsing by more than 10%. Facing this trend, Portugal is the only country among the 27 countries where the number of children is increasing.
