Italian women shun motherhood

BBC News:

The Italian population is getting smaller and it is also getting older. The fertility rate - at 1.33 children per woman - is one of the lowest in the Western world. And more than one in five of the population in Italy is now over 65.

On current estimates there will be 14 million fewer Italians by the year 2050.

The question is why? The answer is that many single women now work hard to avoid the responsibilities of childcare. An increasing proportion of educated women no longer want to be just mothers and wives.

Ten years ago women represented only 22% of the work force here - now they are 47%.

But there is another reason most young families decide against having children - they can't afford it.

The country spends just 3.8% of its GDP on child-related social spending compared with an EU average of around 8%.

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