OECD Warns of Economic Strain as Birth Rates Plummet in Wealthy Nations

Aging populations and low fertility rates prompt calls for policy adjustments to support families and workforce productivity.

Birth rates in OECD countries have dropped from 3.3 children per woman in 1960 to 1.5 in 2022.
Economic pressures and changing social attitudes are leading people to delay or forgo parenthood.
OECD suggests enhancing family support policies, affordable housing, and immigration to mitigate workforce decline.
Concerns over declining birth rates may have underlying ethnonationalist motivations, experts warn.
Governments are urged to adopt a reproductive justice framework to address low birth rates beyond economic goals.