The birth rate is declining throughout Belgium, but the decline is strongest in Brussels. According to demographer Patrick Deboosere, this is mainly due to the composition of the Brussels population and the changes therein.
Year after year, the number of births in Brussels is falling. Last year, 14,622 children were born in Brussels. In 2018 there were still 17,377, a decrease of almost 16 percent in four years. In Flanders, this is a decrease of about 1.5 percent in the same period and 0.8 percent in Wallonia.
According to demographer Patrick Deboosere (VUB), there are a number of hypotheses to explain this strong decline. “The number of births is falling throughout Belgium. Brussels follows the same trend as Wallonia and Flanders, but it started from a higher level.”
For a long time, women in Brussels had relatively more children than in Flanders and Wallonia, but that is now changing. The reason for this needs to be investigated, but according to Deboosere it may have to do with the evolution in the composition of young women in Brussels.
“Young people today study longer, start a permanent relationship later and therefore also have children. The desire to have children is therefore postponed, or sometimes even adjusted,” says Deboosere. “In addition, almost all young women are developing their own professional careers, in which the combination with children is not always easy.”
There are also cyclical trends, Deboosere explains. “Just think of the covid crisis, but also the housing crisis. This can contribute to the postponement or cancellation of a desire to have children. It can also be a reason to move to a more affordable and suitable home outside the region when planning a desire to have children. the available childcare can play a role. To what extent this plays a role in Brussels should be investigated.”
This article is originally published on bruzz.be
