Fertility rates plummet in Switzerland – and beyond

The global fertility decline has not spared Switerland. Some states are trying to boost births with publicity campaigns or baby bonuses. But it will take a lot more to change the choices being made by today’s couples. In Switzerland, one rarely encounters a family with three or four children now. Like many developed economies, this country has fallen below the threshold needed to maintain existing population numbers (2.1 children per woman) since the early 1970s. Yet figures published last year by the Swiss Federal Statistical Office are striking. In 2022, the birth rate fell below 1.4, the lowest level since 2001. All this in spite of the fact that at least two children remains the ideal for nine out of ten people. The same trend can be observed across the globe. After decades that saw the size of families shrink – a demographic shift spurred by better education and jobs for women, availability of contraception and urbanisation – many countries are now witnessing a free fall in ...