INE reports on falling Spanish birth rate

 

Today's report in El Pais newspaper echoes a blog written by Tumbit's own Mr Grumpy some months ago regarding the precarious birth rate in Spain. The Blog - "Dodgy Spanish Sperm" - questioned the reasons behind this.

The Newspaper concurs with Mr Grumpy, in that that Spaniards are having fewer babies and later in life, with the recent trend beginning in 2008 with the onset of the economic crisis, according to a report released by the INE National Statistics Office.

Figures show that the annual number of births in 2010 fell 1.96% to 484,055, the third consecutive yearly fall. The fertility rate - the number of children per woman - also fell slightly to 1.38 from 1.39. Spanish women have their first child on average at age 31.9, a record high, while foreigners living in Spain start at 28.7.

Experts are concerned about these numbers. Gerardo Meil, a professor of sociology at Madrid's Autónoma University, said they can "endanger generational changeover" and notes that the desirable fertility rate for demographic sustainability is 2.1%.