Covid crisis: what consequences for the birth rate?

Audio 48:30

In many countries, the trend is downward in births in 2021 compared to 2020 AFP - MARTIN BUREAU

By: Chantal Lorho Follow

50 mins

“Baby flop” or “baby crash”, the puns illustrating the effect of the pandemic on the birth rate have been making headlines in the press for several months.

Publicity

The numbers seem to prove them right.

Minus 20% in Spain, minus 15% in China, minus 13.5% in France, minus 8% announced in the United States ... In many countries, the trend is therefore downward in births in 2021 compared to the year 2020. Record levels that could strongly impact the world population.

Uncertainty about the future and the economic crisis are reasons given to explain the choice of individuals to postpone or give up their child project.

In countries where the birth rate was already underway, should we be more worried about the impact of the pandemic?

What consequences are to be feared?

And what about developing countries?  

With:

Gilles Pison

, professor at the

Museum of Natural History

and demographer at

INED (National Institute for Demographic Studies)

.

Author of the

Atlas of World Population

 (Otherwise, 2019)  

Charlotte Debest

, sociologist

at Rennes II University

, author of 

The Choice of a

Childless

Life 

(Rennes University Press, 2014)

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