The birth rate in Sweden is the lowest in two decades
Stockholm, August 8 (IANS): The birth rate in Sweden has reached its lowest level in more than two decades, according to official figures.
The figures released by the Central Statistics Office on Sunday revealed that between January and April this year, 1.57 children were born per woman, compared to 1.69 children in the same period last year, Xinhua news agency reports.
– It is a surprisingly strong decline in the statistics, said Gunnar Andersson, demography professor at Stockholm University, to Sveriges Television on Sunday.
When people were housebound during the covid-19 pandemic, childbirth increased to 1.69 children per woman, but in the first four months of this year, the number of births fell to 35,467 children, according to Statistics Norway.
It was 2,483 fewer than the same period last year and also the lowest level in the last 20 years.
– In the short term, there may be random variations like in January. But the level has since been significantly lower than before, says Andersson.
He said the sudden drop in fertility could be linked to the mass vaccination campaign against Covid-19 that began in the spring of 2021.
“Many realized this was the end of the lockdown and working from home, and returned to normal life.”
In the late 1990s, an average of 1.5 children were born per woman, Sweden’s Television reported.
“In the 1990s we had an economic crisis, and fewer people chose to have children,” added the professor.