Australia: Fertility Rate Drops to Record Low Amid COVID-19 Uncertainties
The fertility rate in the country went down by 5 per cent. In 2020, 294,369 births were registered in Australia which was 3.7 per cent lower than the preceding year. The biggest fall in birth rate was observed in South Australia and Victoria.
Sydney, December 9: The coronavirus outbreak and its subsequent global lockdown have created several financial, economical and social uncertainties across the world. These uncertainties have even impacted the fertility rated in Australia. According to report, the fertility rate in the country is at a all time low. Amid insecurities inducted by COVID-19 pandemic, potential parents are delaying or postponing having children in the country.
According to a report by the Sydney Morning Herald, the fertility rate in the country went down by 5 per cent. In 2020, 294,369 births were registered in Australia which was 3.7 per cent lower than the preceding year. The biggest fall in birth rate was observed in South Australia and Victoria. There was a record 4.9 per cent drop in the number of births in both the places. Study Finds COVID-19 Pandemic Made Mothers Hesitant to Have Another Baby.
Demographer Liz Allen from the ANU Centre for Social Research and Methods told the Sydney Morning Herald that the fertility rate in the country was falling for the past 50 years. She reportedly said that it is now even more difficult for prospective parents to start a new family because of several factors. Financial insecurity induced by the recession caused by coronavirus outbreak being one of them.
"Potential parents are being hammered on all sides, and struggling to survive in a climate that directly translates into missing children,” Allen was quoted as saying in the report. “People have postponed having children and we could see a lift next year, but I suspect that what we have seen is a life-long impact on our population, " she reportedly added. Omicron Spread: More Cases of New COVID-19 Variant Reported in Australia’s New South Wales.
According to the worldometers website, the current population of Australia is 25,924,027. The population in Australia in the preceding year was estimated at 25,499,884 at mid year, as per data by the UN.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 09, 2021 07:50 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).