Why is Europe have such a low birth rate?? (schools, closing)

[DAP443]

Why is Europe have such a low birth rate??

[moving123456]

Because people there have better things to do there than have as many kids as possible?

[J Arp]

Because they all have bad teeth a smell faintly of foot sweat and cheese?

Maybe it is the aging population, maybe women/couples in Europe rub a couple of brain cells together before bumping uglies? Maybe women in Europe realize that thing between their legs isn't a clown car and kids are expensive.

A couple of countries have tax breaks and other incentives for people to have kids, but I don't guess it is working.

[lndigo]

Because kids are financial liabilities in the western world and not financial assets.

[clongirl]

The reason (for those that are actually interested) is that there are more opportunities for women in Europe now. Women are also waiting until they're older to get married and have children- much like in the US, women are becoming more career/education minded. The Catholic Church also doesn't have the influence over people that historically did in the past. I think that Italy and Spain in particular are reporting the lowest birth rates now.

[Cornerguy1]

Members are reminded that this the World forum. Those who wish to debate US issues should take those discussions over to Politics or Immigration.

[orangeapple]

Why is everyone speaking so disparagingly of having children? There's nothing wrong with having or wanting a family. I personally don't want kids, but I'm not against them. You make it sound like motherhood is degrading or something... Anyhow, this is in interesting article...it seems women in Europe do want to have children, and more than the current birth rate: Falling birthrate poses problem for Europe - or does it? - International Herald Tribune

[Munich]

It's just really sad when you are in some European cities were most people are old nowadays - life is slow, the streets aren't filled with hip and trendy ads anymore but with offers for retirees, schools are closing.... a country with no children is a dead country. some cities can still benefit from immigration but wait maybe ten more years and you will get the same picture there as well. By the way, white people in the U.S. don't have many more children than Europeans. It's basically the black and hispanic populations that are growing. Just google the numbers: The (mostly white) jewish population is massively shrinking in the US whereas the Arab Muslim population is rapidly growing. Just same picture as in Europe: Muhammad is the number one name for babies in the UK, in Brussels, Amsterdam, Rotterdam,........

The only difference is that Europe has never been as diverse as the US and a drop in the birth rate of white people leads to a much more obvious drop in the overall birth rate than it does in America.

[Ripley6174]

I mentioned the exact same thing, but my post got deleted

[Winston Smith]

Originally Posted by DAP443

Why is Europe have such a low birth rate??

Because as economic opportunities for women rise, fertility rates decline. Economic opportunities for women in Europe are among the highest in the world.