Covid-19 crisis: should we be alarmed by the drop in the birth rate?

Audio 19:30

The health crisis has caused a drop in the birth rate.

Some countries record rates close to post-WWII.

CC0 Pixabay / marcelodorileo

By: Romain Auzouy

21 mins

-23% in Taiwan, -20% in Spain, -13% in France… the figures for the start of 2021 indicate a sharp drop in the birth rate.

Between health fears, economic uncertainty and a generally anxiety-provoking climate: all observers agree that the coronavirus crisis is at the origin of this situation.

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But, the reality may be different depending on the region of the world.

Is this demographic decline a new marker of inequalities?

How far will this fall go and what could be the consequences on the world balance?

With our guest

Gilles Pison

, professor at the National Museum of Natural History, associate researcher at the National Institute of Demographic Studies (INED), author of “

Atlas of the world population”

 (Autrement, 2019).

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