The main cause of the decline in the birth rate is the decrease in the number of potential mothers, that is, women of reproductive age, as well as low fertility, which is the average number of children that a single woman gives birth to, Minister of Family and Social Policy Marlena Maląg said on Twitter on Wednesday.
The main cause of the decline in the birth rate is the decrease in the number of women of reproductive age. The number of women of reproductive age in Poland was 10.1 million in 1995. In 2022, it was 8.7 million, the head of the family ministry reported.
She posted a chart showing the number of women of reproductive age in Poland over a 27-year period.
The +Family 500Plus+ program – starting from January 1, 2024, the +Family 800Plus+ program is the largest social program after the political transformation in Poland – wrote Maląg.
As she stated, over 240 billion PLN has been allocated for the support of Polish families under the program, and it covers nearly 7 million children.
Meanwhile, the main cause of the decline in the birth rate is the decrease in the number of women aged 20-40, in which age range women in Poland give birth to 95 percent of all the newborns, she explained.
She added that the reason for this situation was the declining number of births since 1983, when 723.6 thousand children were born. “In 2003, it was only 351.1 thousand. Women born in 1983 will be 40 years old in 2023. In addition to the decreasing number of potential mothers, the low fertility rate (which is the average number of children that a single woman gives birth to) also contributes to the low birth rate,” she summed up.