The trend of Hungarians to desire for children is unbroken
For three years, the desire of Hungarian couples to have children has been persistent, points out a recent analysis of the Maria Kopp Institute. The 1.49 fertility rate showing this has been stable since 2016, indicating that not only an incidental, non-recurring sudden increase occurred in 2016. The current fertility rate is one fifth higher than in 2010.
The 0.6 per cent increase in marriages compared to 2017 shows that the institution of marriage now enjoys glory days in Hungary, as since 1995 there have not been as many marriages as in recent years. Between January and December last year, nearly 51,000 couples have decided to enter into wedlock.
In parallel with the rise of number of marriages, there is less and less divorce, and the number of abortions and infant deaths has never been as low as last year.
The decline in the number of births is in direct proportion to the decline in the number of women in their childbearing age, as in 2018, more than twenty thousand less women aged 15-49 lived in Hungary than in 2017.
More than 90 percent of children are undertaken by women aged between 20 and 40, the percentage of women in this age group has fallen by 2.4 percent (respectively a 3.4 percent decrease in the 30-40 age group). Compared to this, the 1.9 percent drop in births is less than what could be inferred from the decrease in number of women in childbearing age.
Photo credit: csaladhalo.hu
