Published: Less than 20 min ago
Fewer children are born in Sweden than in many years.
Not since 2005 has the number of newborns been as low as so far in 2022, according to Statistics Sweden.
During the first nine months of the year, 81,550 live children were born in Sweden. It is the lowest number since the mid-2000s – and 7.7 percent less compared to the same period last year. This is stated by Statistics Norway (SCB) in a press release.
“Not since 2005 have fewer children been born in Sweden during the first nine months of the year. That year, roughly 78,000 children were born between January and September. At the same time, it may be worth mentioning that the total population has grown by almost 1.5 million inhabitants since then,” says Rasmus Andersson, population statistician at Statistics Sweden, in the press release.
The number of births has decreased in 207 of the country’s 290 municipalities. In 30 of these municipalities, births have not been that few during at least the entire 2000s. In a further 42 municipalities, births are the lowest in at least 15 years.
What the decline is due to is unclear, according to Statistics Sweden.
“In recent years there has been a boom in Sweden and no political decisions have been made that should have driven down childbearing. Despite this, childbearing has continued to decline. The research does not have a good answer as to why,” says Vitor Miranda, demographer at Statistics Sweden, in the same press release.