Spain: Short on children and short on family policies

Spain’s total fertility rate has more than halved since 1975, when it was 2.8, to the present 1.3 (the lowest rate on record, 1.2, was reached in 1995). At the same time, the mean age at first childbirth has grown continually, seriously hindering any sustained recovery of fertility. Cohort fertility...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Demographic research 2008-07, Vol.19, p.1059-1104
Main Authors: Delgado, Margarita, Meil, Gerardo, López, Francisco Zamora
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Age groups
Birth order
Childbirth & labor
Children
Demography
Families & family life
Family Policy
Fecundity
Female fertility
Fertility
Fertility rates
Life expectancy
Market structure
Marriage
Perceptions
Research Article
School age children
Spain
Trends
Women
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Summary:Spain’s total fertility rate has more than halved since 1975, when it was 2.8, to the present 1.3 (the lowest rate on record, 1.2, was reached in 1995). At the same time, the mean age at first childbirth has grown continually, seriously hindering any sustained recovery of fertility. Cohort fertility, in turn, has declined uninterruptedly since the 1941 cohort, and according to all estimates, this will drop to 1.6 for women born in the 1960s. A downturn in nuptiality, which has not been offset by a rise in consensual unions, along with the prevalence of contraceptives and abortion, have contributed substantially to falling fertility. Underlying this decrease is the profound cultural, social, and economic change that has raised the perceived costs of leaving the parental home and having children. The lack of any explicit family policy or transfers to compensate for such costs has reinforced that perception.
ISSN:1435-9871
2363-7064
1435-9871
DOI:10.4054/DemRes.2008.19.27