Spain has a very low birth rate. In 2015, the number of births per thousand inhabitants was 8.99 percent while the average number of children per woman stands at 1.33, plunging the country into a serious demographic crisis: for the first time in 75 years there are more deaths than births.
How did we get to this situation? The Spanish Federation of Large Families (FEFN) and the Madrid Vivo Foundation have conducted a survey of more than four thousand large families to find out how they live and what are the main obstacles that families have for having more children.
The reconciliation, the main problem
We are at the tail of fertility compared to the other countries of the European Union, and also in our country the tendency of the only child is consolidated. It is clear that, for a host of reasons, the Spaniards we have fewer children than we would like to have. While most would like to have at least two children, after the first, more and more families decide to plant themselves. Currently, three out of ten children grow up without siblings.
But why don't we have more children? Each family has its particular circumstances for which they decide not to have more children, and money is not always the main reason.
The main drawback of couples when considering having more children is the difficult reconciliation between work and home (51 percent), followed by the instability and job insecurity (35 percent) and of the economic crisis (12 percent), something that seems to worry less than a few years ago.
It is not just a matter of money
How many children would you have if you had more money? Probably the situation would not change radically, because although it is very important, the decision to have children is not proportionally direct to the money you have. There are many other things at stake.
Regarding the myth that those who have money have more children, large families were asked how they make ends meet. In the economic, they are used to tightening their belts to be able to cover all the needs. According to the survey results:
- More than half arrive just at the end of the month (59 percent)
- One in three families has had to spend savings or incur a debt to meet all family expenses
- 45 percent of large families live with between 1,500 and 3,000 euros per month
- 28 percent have less than 1,500 euros per month. Only 3 percent of these households enter more than 6,000 euros each month.
