UN warns of a fertility crisis fueled by political indifference

Drawing on reports from numerous citizens citing ineffective birth and child support policies and their own financial struggles, leading agencies are now warning of a global fertility crisis.

The most recent organization to do so is the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which conducted a survey of 14,000 people across 14 countries for its annual State of World Population report. 

In the report, this UN agency detailed the reasons behind this fertility crisis, including politicians' lack of interest in reversing the situation and the ineffectiveness of some of their measures.

"As policymakers and pundits raise the alarm about fertility rates, they often assume that if people are having children, it’s because they can and want to, and if they’re not it’s because they can’t or don’t want to," UNFPA stressed in its report.

The economy is another problem

But the UN agency went further, revealing that among the 14,000 respondents, the majority cited "economic concerns" as the main reason they decided not to have children or not to have as many as they wanted.

"The survey shows that most people do want two or more children, but fear they can’t make this a reality," UNFPA noted. "More than half said financial worries – including housing costs, childcare and job insecurity – would likely lead to them having fewer children."

Within that majority, 39% said that "financial limitations had affected or would affect their ability to realize their desired family size."

UNFPA executive director Dr. Natalia Kanem argued that solving this crisis requires responding to what people are demanding.

"Vast numbers of people are unable to create the families they want. The issue is lack of choice, not desire, with major consequences for individuals and societies. That is the real fertility crisis, and the answer lies in responding to what people say they need: paid family leave, affordable fertility care, and supportive partners," she said.