The birth rate collapses in Uruguay, what is behind it?

Uruguay, historically, has been a country with low fertility levels. However, now a historical record is being seen. Family planning, the incursion of women into the world of work and public policies for the prevention of adolescent pregnancy are among the causes of this phenomenon.

"I do not feel the desire, I never dreamed of that," sighs Laura, 40, when answering why she does not want to be a mother in Uruguay, a country that traditionally has low fertility and where the number of births reached its historic low in 2020, after falling drastically in the last five years. “I also wonder if we are in a society to bring children. The world is already saturated and it is ridiculous to think that we are going to become extinct because a group of people does not have children ”, claims this professional with arguments that she recites almost by heart, accustomed to questions that often question her decision.

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The lack of desire is far from being the only reason for low fertility, a widespread multi-causal phenomenon in the region, in which Uruguay is a historical standard-bearer. This translates into an average of 1.4 children per woman: the lowest fertility rate in Uruguayan history, far from replacement and close to the fantasy of “extinction”. It is also possibly the lowest in the region, although several Latin American countries do not have updated data for 2020. Cuba, another nation with low fertility, reached 1.57 children per woman in 2019, according to the latest official figures. in 2020.

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This translates into an average of 1.4 children per woman: the lowest fertility rate in Uruguayan history, far from replacement and close to the fantasy of “extinction”. It is also possibly the lowest in the region, although several Latin American countries do not have updated data for 2020. For example, Cuba, another nation with low fertility, reached 1.57 children per woman in 2019, according to the latest official figures.

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Fewer teenage mothers

“You have to avoid catastrophic scenarios. The idea that we are going to end up with a depopulated or disappearing country is not going to happen ”, clarifies the head of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) office in Uruguay, Fernando Filgueira. According to the sociologist, the country's historic low birth rate is explained by an early urbanization process, migrants with low fertility rates, and the absence of a strong indigenous population.

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The separation of Church and State also facilitated family planning and the early incorporation of women into the educational world and the labor market, which favored the decrease in births. To this is added today the postponement of motherhood, which usually leads to the decision to have only one child or even fertility problems. But the sharp drop that has occurred since 2015 is a mirror of another crucial drop: that of teenage motherhood.

"52% of the explanation for the decline in the last five years, from 1.9 to 1.4 children per woman," is explained by the decrease in mothers aged 15 to 24, due to public policies for the prevention of adolescent pregnancy, he points out. the demographer Ignacio Pardo, researcher at the University of the Republic. For her part, Risel Suárez, director of the Pereira Rossell Women's Hospital, a maternity reference center in Uruguay, explains that "the most convincing hypothesis" is that this drop is due to subdermal contraceptive implants offered by the State to women. young people since 2014. But it also points to sex education and a paradigm shift that makes adolescents come to the gynecological office accompanied by their mothers. "It is something that has been very noticeable at a clinical level in the last decade," he says.

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Region down

While many of the causes of low fertility are good news, staying at levels of 1.4 children per woman can lead to long-term problems. Not because of the specter of "extinction", because according to Filgueira, with the current trend, the Uruguayan population would continue to grow until 2040 and only in 2100 would there be a decline. But an inevitable consequence is the aging of the population, which puts pressure on the health and social security systems.

Experts consider that it should be pointed out that families distribute care so that they do not fall mainly on women and that the State financially support upbringing, in a country with a high cost of living.

The decline in fertility is a trend in Latin America, which mimics a process rooted in Europe and parts of Asia. South Korea reached 0.9 children per woman in 2019, according to data collected by the World Bank. Spain (1.2) and Italy (1.3) have the lowest fertility rates among European countries and Chile (1.6) and Costa Rica (1.7) in Latin America, where Bolivia appears at the other extreme with 2 , 7 children per woman.

In Uruguay, Laura recognizes that perhaps one day she will regret her decision. “But what if I regret having them? I've seen it too ”.

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