The fertility rate – a calculation of how many children a woman will have on average during her lifetime – is written at 1.41 for the year 2022. The year before that it was 1.55.
A total of 51,480 children were born in the country, which was 4,580 fewer than in 2021 and 1,499 fewer than in 2020, according to Statistics Norway (SSB).
Women under 40 give birth to fewer children, while the trend among women over 40 is stable. The reduction is greatest in the 25–34 age group.
“Because there are so many 30-year-olds who haven’t had children yet, it’s doubtful that today’s women will have as many children as the generations before them, although they may conceivably have a few more children after turning 30,” says Espen Andersen, senior adviser at SSB, in a press release.