Demographic crisis in Spain, more deaths than births

The National Statistics Institute has warned that in Spain there are already more deaths than births, leading the country to a social model that may become unsustainable in just ten years.

Our population pyramid is no longer shaped like a pyramid and has, over time, become more like a pitcher with the most prominent part in the middle. With this perspective, we are heading towards a massive aging of the population.

What are the causes of this anomaly?

The causes are both the decline in birth rates and, on the other hand, the increase in life expectancy of the elderly.

Regarding the decline in birth rates, Spain has one of the lowest fertility rates in the European Union. In recent years, immigration had sustained population growth. However, with the reduction of the foreign population, birth rates have plummeted. It is estimated that between 2011 and 2020, around 4.4 million children will be born, which is 4.7% less than the previous decade, and in 2020, there will be 18.1% fewer children born than in 2010.

Regarding the situation at the top of our population, the forecast highlights an increase in people over 85 years old. It is projected that more than 6,000 people will reach the age of one hundred in 2020.

What can we do?

In Spain, the decline in birth rates is attributed to the removal of financial support measures for motherhood. To the endless workdays and the precariousness due to lack of employment from the past economic crisis. In addition, women are increasingly postponing the age at which they have their first child, with postponing motherhood past the age of thirty becoming more common.

Measures to increase birth rates usually focus on extending maternity/paternity leave and promoting work-life balance.

In Spain, paid maternity leave is 16 weeks for the mother and 15 days for the father.

While in other countries, the regulation of these leaves varies widely, with the best situations in countries like Sweden and Norway, which grant more than 16 months for the mother and 60 to 70 days for the father.

If we add to these government aid actions a culture of corporate schedules more focused on productivity than on work presence, with continuous and intensive schedules, it is logical that birth rates would be higher than in Spain.

Why is it important to reverse this situation?

The situation will be unsustainable for our social and economic model since the number of retirees will increase while the number of people in the workforce decreases. If the economic situation does not improve, this trend may lead to strategies such as raising the retirement age, forcing our elderly to have a poorer quality of life in their old age.