Declining Fertility rates in Europe

 

	JANUARY 16, 2013 Wednesday Fertility Rates Decline in Europe as Economy Lags 15 of 22 European Union countries have registered declines in their fertility rates since the financial crisis started in 2008, a sharp contrast with fertility-rate increases in 19 of the countries during the previous three years, says the Wall Street Journal. The number of children a woman is expected to have during her lifetime stood at 1.43 in Greece, 1.36 in Spain, and 2.05 in Ireland in 2011; a 2.1 fertility rate is needed to keep a country's population stable, experts say. Source: Slowing Birthrates Weigh on Europe's Weak Economies