Births in Spain drop to lowest level on record

OVIEDO, Spain

With just under 337,000 babies born last year, Spain saw the lowest number of births since record-keeping began in 1941, according to a study released on Wednesday.

The average age for giving birth in the country also reached historic highs at 32.6 years old. For mothers born in Spain, the average age hit 33 for the first time, revealed the study by Spain’s National Statistics Agency (INE).

Between 2011 and 2021, the number of annual births in Spain plunged by 29%.

With just 1.19 children born for every woman, Spain’s historically low birth rate suggests the country’s population will fall dramatically without sustained immigration.

The number of births was far surpassed by the number of deaths, with 450,687 people passing away in 2021. That is the second-highest figure on record, but still 8.7% lower than in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic raged and the population was unvaccinated.

The pandemic may have also influenced Spain’s low birth rate, according to the INE. The agency said births were lower in the first part of 2021, reflecting a decrease in conception during the country’s harsh lockdown in the 2020 spring.

Meanwhile, marriages shot up by 60.3% compared to 2020, again influenced by restrictions on celebrations. However, the number of couples marrying in 2021 was still substantially lower than in 2019. For men, the average age for tying the knot was 39.5; for women, 36.7.

A 2019 UN report predicts that Spain will have the third-highest old-age dependency ratio in the world by 2050, after Japan and South Korea.

Experts suggest that economic conditions are one of the main obstacles to having children in Spain.

A study released Tuesday by Save the Children estimates that it costs an average of €672 ($700) per month to raise a child in Spain – up 18% from 2018. In Spain, the average salary is around €1,700 ($1,770) per month, according to a recent study by talent agency Adecco.

According to Eurostat, Spain has the third-highest rate of children at risk of poverty or social exclusion in the EU after Romania and Bulgaria. Nearly one-third of all children in Spain fall into this category.