Lowest fertility rate ever in the Netherlands: that’s how it works

First the figures: last year 167,504 children were born. The average number of children per woman was 1.49, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) concluded. That so-called fertility rate has been steadily declining since 2010, but has never been this low before.

Same number per mother

CBS wondered how this was possible and first concluded: fewer children are born per woman, but the number per mother remains the same. So more women remain childless.

The decline in the fertility rate is strongest among young, poorly educated women. The figures also fell among women with an education at MBO-2/HAVO/VWO level or with a HBO/university education, but less sharply.

According to Statistics Netherlands, the decline was strongest among women with a low level of education may be due to their weaker socio-economic position. The decline among these women is also more pronounced because on average they become mothers at a younger age.

The declining fertility rate is not unique to the Netherlands, Statistics Netherlands reports. Most European countries show similar developments.

‘An interplay’

The researchers emphasize that there is not one clear explanation for the declining fertility rate. “It appears to be an interplay of different patterns, in which education level is one of the factors,” says CBS.

The researchers also place a comment on the study: the focus was on women born in the Netherlands.