Published
Update
France has recorded the lowest number of births since the Second World War according to INSEE: this is the subject of the Talk on Thursday January 18. Ludo Pauchant receives Sylvie Le Minez, head of demographic and social studies at INSEE, Jean Birnbaum, author of “Only children change the world” (ed. Seuil) and Edith Vallée, pioneer of studies on non-maternity.
According to the latest data revealed by INSEETuesday January 16, France has never recorded so few births since the Second World War. In 2023, the country counts 678,000 births, a decrease of 6.6% compared to the last report. If in 2010 women had more than two children, the number of children per woman rises to 1.68 in 2023.
How can we explain this drop in the birth rate in France?
First of all because the big ones are fewer and later. In the 1960s, women gave birth to their first child at the age of 24, on average. Nowadays, they give birth to their first baby at 31 years old. In question, concerns linked to the global context, conflicts in the world, the environmental crisis or even the economic context.
In addition, many people, whether in a relationship or not, young or old, do not want to have children. This is the case with the Dinks (for “Double Income no kids”, which means “double salary, without children” in French), couples without dependent children and without any intention of having them. A desire displayed and assumed by the latter who highlight their thirst for freedom, as well as the desire not to have children in an uncertain and anxiety-provoking world.
Infertility, a “scourge” that Emmanuel Macron wants to tackle
Tuesday January 16, during his press conference, Emmanuel Macron promised a “big plan” to fight against infertility in France, a problem that affects more than 3 million French people. Having the ambition to boost the birth rate in the country, this plan should allow the “demographic rearmament” wanted by the President of the Republic.
