No kids during pandemic? Financial concerns No. 1 reason for people delaying or not having babies
Since the start of the coronavirus crisis, it’s felt like the economy (along with the rest of life!) has been on a rollercoaster ride.
In March 2020, there were fears of a prolonged global recession fueled by crashing stock, housing and job markets. Then those markets mostly rebounded. By spring 2021, the strong recovery fueled talk of transitory inflation, which turned to concern about stagflation by the end of the year. Now, recession worries are rising once again.
White-knuckle ride
Given the highs and lows of the last 25 months, it’s little wonder finances are playing into family-planning decisions.
A recent Ipsos online poll by Ipsos’ Global Advisor found the top reason why people under age 50, on average, across 30 countries opted to delay or not have a child during the past two years was financial concerns (21%), followed by being single (15%) and concerns due to the COVID-19 pandemic (11%).
Going down
Poland has been struggling with falling birth rates for decades. A global public-health crisis hasn’t helped.
The number of births dipped slightly to 166,000 in the first six months of 2021, down from 177,400 in the first half of 2020, according to Poland’s statistics agency.
“Currently, the fertility rate is 1.4 — the lowest level since the World War II. There are many reasons for this. Financial instability and uncertainty about the future are certainly some of the most important,” says Anna Karczmarczuk, Managing Director of Ipsos in Poland.
Nudging up
Like Poland, neighbouring Germany has long grappled with declining birth rates.
Unlike Poland, Germany had approximately 315,000 births between January-May 2021, which was an increase of +1.4% year-over-year, according to its national statistics office. Several government policies, such as state-funded daycare and flexible maternity and paternity leaves, that rolled out in recent years may have contributed to the slight bump, says Robert Grimm, Director of Public Affairs in Germany.
Poland’s government has also tried to ease the financial burden on people who have kids in recent years. Despite these efforts, Karczmarczuk says some Polish people are waiting longer to have their first child and “there is also a growing group of people who decide not to have children at all.”
More twists and turns coming
Our survey asking about the reasons why people opted to delay or not have a child during the pandemic was fielded between January 21-February 4 right before new threats rose to international attention: Omicron subvariants and the Ukraine conflict.
While it’s early days, energy prices have already spiked for many around the world. And the economic fallout from the conflict could spark a recession in Germany, predicts Grimm, which he says may ultimately “lead to a situation where people won’t feel entirely comfortable having children.”
Meanwhile, droves of refugees fleeing Ukraine have landed next door in Poland. The impact of the escalating conflict is still playing out, but “there is geopolitical instability, as well as the economic situation, which may also mean postponing the decision to have children,” says Karczmarc.
