Today, a Brussels woman gives birth to an average of 1.37 children. “This figure, the lowest ever recorded in the Region, is now lower than that of other regions of the country. In comparison, in 2007, a Brussels woman gave birth to 2.08 children on average”specifies the Institute.
The drop in the birth rate leads to the closure of first primary classes in Brussels
How can we explain this decline in fertility?
The IBSA points to four major reasons for this decline:
1. An uncertain global context
“Faced with economic, geopolitical and climatic instability, more and more couples are choosing to postpone the arrival of children, or even to limit their number. This caution, linked to the global context, thus plays a key role in the decline in fertility.
-2. Later parenthood
“Brussels are becoming mothers later and later. However, if births among young women are decreasing sharply, they are not offset by a sharp increase among older women. Result: a drop in fertility and fewer babies to be born. Brussels.”
3. Migration towards the Brussels periphery
“The Brussels Region is at the heart of a vast process of peri-urbanization which extends to Flanders and Wallonia. More and more households, having their children later, are leaving Brussels to settle in the outskirts before starting a family . This migration promotes fertility in the periphery, where it is higher than in the capital.”
4. The evolution of the foreign population
“In Brussels, 45% of women of childbearing age (from 15 to 49 years) are of foreign nationality. In recent years, their fertility has declined, even slightly more than that of Belgian women. This is notably linked to the change in the composition of the foreign population in the Brussels Region. The populations arriving in Brussels over the last ten years mainly come from Europe. These families generally have fewer children than families from previous waves of immigration. evolution of the foreign population therefore partly explains the decline in fertility.”
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