All over the world, countries are confronting population stagnation and a fertility bust, a dizzying reversal unmatched in recorded history that will make first-birthday parties a rarer sight than funerals, and empty homes a common eyesore.
Germany bucks birth trend with rise nine months after its first lockdown As birth rates fall in the US and China, Germany records a rise 13 May 2021 - 17:28 Emma Thomasson Picture: WORKLIFE/UNSPLASH
Berlin China and the US are grappling with falling birth rates but Germany has bucked the trend with a rise in births nine months after its first pandemic lockdown, testimony to recent family-friendly policies and higher migration.
Europe’s largest economy used to have one of the lowest fertility rates in the region as conservative social norms and policies made it hard for women to reconcile families and work, crimping economic growth and compounding Germany’s labour shortage as baby boomers retire.