Already last year we warned of the serious demographic crisis in Spain where for the first time there were more deaths than births. And this year records a record downward historical. The INE (National Institute of Statistics) has published data on the Natural movement of the population corresponding to 2016 and the figures are alarming again.
In 2016 408,384 children were born, 11,906 less than in 2015 (2.8%), and 409,099 people died. That is, only 8.8 children are born per thousand inhabitants. He baby boom spanish It was registered in 2008, when 519,779 babies came into the world, more than 20 percent more than last year.
An alarming situation
#MNP In 2016, 408,384 children were born in Spain, 2.8% less than the previous year //t.co/cM9ewFlgqN #INE #births pic.twitter.com/hTJZebId4R
- INE Spain (@es_INE) June 22, 2017
For the second time in a row, in 2016 a negative vegetative growth, which indicates that, since there is no generational change, the demographic balance is in danger.
Since the postwar years that no such negative birth data were recorded like the ones that are happening today. It is tremendously worrying and everything seems to indicate that the trend will continue to increase.
The first child at 32
Another record is that the age at which women are mothers for the first time has reached the historical figure of 32 years. The previous year had registered at 31.9 and in 2014, 31.8. That is, it increases at the rate of one tenth per year.
On the other hand, women have, on average 1.33 children, an identical figure to that of 2015. The lowest was recorded in 2013 with 1.27 children per
Fewer women of childbearing age
#IDB Short-term fertility indicator 2006-2016 (average number of children per woman) //t.co/up7jvE9kX8 #INE pic.twitter.com/5DqzxfYdw7
- INE Spain (@es_INE) June 22, 2017
The population of women of childbearing age (between 15 and 49 years) has also fallen to 10.6 million, a trend that has been repeated since 2009. A fact that is due, according to the INE, to that in this range are the less numerous generations born during the birth crisis of the 80s and first half of the 90s.
Why do couples have fewer children?
Although, most Spaniards have expressed that they would like to have more children than they have, the reality means that after the first, more and more families decide to plant themselves.
The reasons are varied, and depend on the personal situation of the couple, but in general you can talk about reasons such as:
The lack of conciliation: the difficulty of combining work and family life.
Instability and job insecurity: An unsound employment situation slows the young couple when considering starting a family.
Maternity Delay: women first seek to perform professionally and find a stable job, delaying the time to become a mother, reducing the chances of having a greater number of children. For this reason, the tendency of the only child continues to increase.
Lack of aid: the cut in subsidies by birth, as well as in aid to the schooling and an insufficient maternal leave, they put even more stones in the way to the couples who want to have children.
