Why so few German babies?

Germany's declining birth rate is a source of concern.  In 2009 only 650.000 babies were born in the Federal Republic, about one half of the number born per annum in the 1960s.  If the trend continues, it is estimated that Germany's population of 82 million will decline by 17 million in 50 years, and Germany would no longer be an economic powerhouse.

Of course, for some, the issue is not too few babies in Germany, but too few blond babies.  Eva Herman (Germany's Sarah Palin) has written hysterical articles warning of hordes of Turkish women "dropping" babies like mad while "real" Germans refuse to have children because they don't want to damage their careers.  In reality, women immigrants quickly adopt the child-bearing behavior of their new homeland and their birth rates are not appreciably higher. 

For Malte Lehming, the problem is that Germans have become less religious -Germany is a  country of atheists and empty churches.  He points to the relatively high birth rates in the US and Ireland as proof that there is a correlation between attending church services and having babies:

National und international lässt sich sagen, dass religiös aktive Menschen weitaus mehr Kinder haben als ihre säkularen Nachbarn der gleichen Region sowie der gleichen Einkommens- und Bildungsschicht.

(Nationally and internationally one can see that people who are religiously active have far more children than their secular neighbors in the same regions, even if they have the same incomes and educational levels.)

That hypothesis doesn't stand up when one looks at traditionally Catholic countries such as Poland, Italy and Spain, all of which have birth rates as low as Germany, while atheistic countries such as France and Scandinavia have much higher rates. The difference appears to be a combination of laws, subsidies and tax incentives that make it possible for women to pursue careers while raising children:

Zu dem umfassenden Betreuungsangebot kommen in Frankreich großzügige finanzielle und steuerliche Erleichterungen, vor allem nach Geburt des zweiten Kindes, sowie Anreize für den raschen beruflichen Wiedereinstieg der Mütter hinzu. Denn auch die französischen Familien sind meist auf zwei Gehälter angewiesen. Eltern, die drei Kinder haben, sind faktisch von der Steuer befreit. Und es gibt ein dreijähriges Elterngeld. Auch im Detail sind die "französischen Verhältnisse" familienfreundlicher: Einem Vater in Deutschland steht nach der Geburt seines Kindes ein arbeitsfreier Tag zu, in Frankreich sind es vierzehn Tage. Und Mütter erhalten 16 Wochen bezahlten Mutterschaftsurlaub.

(In addition to comprehensive childcare France offers generous financial benefits and tax relief, especially after the birth of the second child, as well as incentives for the mother to quickly resume her career. For families in France are also dependent on two incomes.  Parents who have three children pay virtually no taxes.  And there are parent subsidies for three years. Even in the details French policies are more family-friendly: a father in Germany is entitled to one paid day off upon the birth of a child while in France he gets 14 days.  And mothers get 16 weeks of maternity leave.) 

Maybe Germany's new minister of labor, Ursula von der Leyen - who has seven children - can implement more family-friendly policies.  Short-term, perhaps Germany should consider opening its borders to the "undesirables" that Sarkozy is kicking out of France. Germany's traditional hostility towards immigrants will only accelerate the demographic crisis.

Comments

[Hattie]

My feeling is that everyone's entitled to have one or two children. I think three is pushing it, and four is irresponsible.
German women are making the right decision to have small families. Well brought up people from small families do best in life.
When I see large families being promoted, I think of how hugely overpopulated just about everywhere in this world is and ask myself, "Are these people insane? Or are they just selfish and careless?"

[MS]

First of call no one is entitled to children. If you were whom you blame for not being able to have children? There is a difference between a large and increasing world population and the population trends of a particular nation. Consider the pension system and social security. We need more young people to enter the work force and that cannot happen if we aren't having children.

[Chas]

Look at the incentives to stimulate birth rates before in Germany. They worked very well.
When a couple gets married and buys a home, for each child they have the state pays 1/4 of their mortgage. Problem solved!