Europeans are dying out. The number of births in the countries of the European Union has fallen below 4 million for the first time since 1960. This is one of the lowest fertility rates in the world. And Slovenia is no exception here. Countries that have managed to identify the fertility rate crisis as a problem have so far tried to address it mainly through financial mechanisms. These could soon prove insufficient. Namely, low fertility rates may turn out to be a problem of values, not of finance.
One country that has consistently shown healthy fertility rates over the years is Mongolia. As publicly available data show, the fertility rate there was a staggering 6.8 children per woman as recently as 1980. There was a sharp drop in the 1990s, and then the fertility rate picked up again.
Today, the fertility rate remains well above 2.1 children per woman, which is the basis for the reproduction of society. The lowest fertility rate was reached in 2004, when it was “as low as” 2 children per woman.
For comparison, according to Eurostat, the fertility rate in Slovenia in 2022 was 1.55 children per woman. Among the countries of the European Union, France has the highest fertility rate (1.79 children per woman), while Malta has the lowest, with 1.08 children per woman. The average fertility rate in the countries of the EU is 1.46 children, far below the level that would still allow the population to be sustained.
According to the media outlet Euronews, the highest fertility rate in the EU was 2.35 children per woman, which was reached in 1970, and the lowest was in 1998, when it was 1.4 children. The EU is, therefore, close to the bottom at the moment and is in danger of slipping even lower.
Low fertility rates: a multifaceted problem
Low fertility causes a whole range of problems. Apart from the obvious problem of the extinction of peoples and their unique cultures, which is a tragedy in and of itself, it also causes widespread problems in the economy and in the efficient delivery of public services. Low fertility rates result in an ageing population, which, in turn, is causing a shortage of labour and a less innovative workforce. At the same time, ageing populations are putting a strain on public pension and healthcare coffers, and the working population is consequently subject to an increasing tax burden.
Some countries are trying to overcome the fertility crisis by welcoming mass immigration and tolerating illegal immigration, thus creating the basis for a whole new set of problems. Illegal immigrants often do not integrate into the working population, and mass immigration in itself changes the demographic composition of nations, which can lead to inter-ethnic conflict.
The example of Mongolia: motherhood as a value
Mongolia, however, does not have a fertility problem. The fertility rate of the population is well above the highest level recorded in the European Union. The ability of their population to reproduce is certainly not linked to the economic performance of the country. In the EU, Bulgaria had the lowest gross domestic product per capita in 2023, yet it was more than twice as high as that of Mongolia. According to Eurostat, Bulgaria’s fertility rate in 2022 was 1.65 children per woman, while Mongolia’s was 2.7. Fertility in the modern world is not simply linked to finances. The case of Mongolia shows that fertility is also linked to the value system and culture of a nation. As the profile “More Births” on the social media platform X recently pointed out, when speaking about the extraordinary case of Mongolia, “Elevating the Status of Motherhood Solves Low Birthrates.” They also wrote that “For 68 years, Mongolian leaders have given the Order of Maternal Glory to mothers. This raised the status of motherhood and helped forge a remarkably pronatal culture.”
As we can see, in Mongolia, unlike in the developed countries of the West, motherhood is a value. The country encourages births not only financially (the financial incentives are actually meagre by Western standards) but, above all, by recognising the contribution mothers make to the well-being of society.
Namely, mothers who have given birth to more than four children are given special awards by the Mongolian presidents. The award is called the “Order of Maternal Glory,” and it has two levels. The first level is awarded to mothers who have four or five children, and the second, more prestigious level is awarded to mothers who have six or more children. Mothers are invited to the Presidential Palace, where the award is handed out to them. The awards are presented before International Children’s Day, and also to mothers living outside the country’s borders.
A lesson for the West
The “Mongolian lesson” shows that the financial mechanism to encourage births may not be sufficiently successful. It can only be effective in cases where families want new children but cannot afford them. In cases where families do not want new children at all, the financial mechanism could prove to be completely ineffective. The problem of misplaced values cannot be solved by financial incentives, but only by a serious reflection on the values that define Western societies.
Ž. K.
