{"id":306240,"date":"2024-02-04T11:24:08","date_gmt":"2024-02-04T17:24:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=306240"},"modified":"2024-02-02T15:42:48","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T21:42:48","slug":"birth-rates-finland-downward-culturally-driven","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/birth-rates-finland-downward-culturally-driven\/","title":{"rendered":"Finland birth rate’s downward spiral is culturally driven, claims expert"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Around the world, countries are grappling with plummeting birth rates and the devastation that could result in the very near future. Numerous governments are trying to course-correct, implementing family-friendly policies that were long overdue… but as legislators in Finland are finding out, the problem runs much deeper than just political policy.<\/p>\n

The Financial Times reported<\/a> that just 20 years ago, Finland’s population was on the rise. It was believed that the so-called “Nordic model” was the reason; Finland offered great maternity care, generous parental leave, and preschool childcare available for all. Despite all of that, however, the birth rate has fallen since 2010.<\/p>\n

Anna Rotkirch, research director at the Family Federation of Finland\u2019s Population Research Institute, said there is likely not much politicians can do to reverse course.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe strange thing with fertility is nobody really knows what\u2019s going on,” she said. “The policy responses are untried because it\u2019s a new situation. It\u2019s not primarily driven by economics or family policies. It\u2019s something cultural, psychological, biological, cognitive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Numerous countries have tried to take action as birth rates have fallen, with countries like Italy<\/a> even trying to incentivize childbirth to encourage people to have children. But unfortunately, these efforts have had little effect, likely because \u2014 as Rotkirch said \u2014 the problem is cultural, not political.<\/p>\n