Women in the villages have long given birth to more children than their more urban sisters, but in recent years, fertility has also fallen in countryside districts of Norway.
Counties such as Troms, Finnmark, Sogn and Fjordane, and Møre and Romsdal were for a long time involved in raising the national birth figures. But it is not a given that this is where one finds the answer when the government wants people to have more children wrote Klassekampen newspaper.
Birth rates are falling as much in the villages as in central metropolitan areas, in many places, moreso. Finnmark, which was at the top of birth statistics ten years ago, is approaching the level in Oslo, which is at the bottom. Together with Troms and the Agder counties, Finnmark has experienced the greatest decline in fertility.
‘’The fertility has fallen in all counties and in most municipalities over the past ten years. Previously, there was greater variation between counties and municipalities in terms of fertility, but this has become smaller since fertility has decreased” said senior researcher, Astri Syse, in Statistics Norway (SSB).
“The birth age has increased for everyone, and then the birth rate will decrease” said Syse. She highlights more education, especially among women, as part of the explanation.
“People invest more in higher education. So they would like to have an interesting and permanent job and a suitable home before they get children. There is little evidence that there are many more than before who do not want children, it just “does not fit” now.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
