How Do You Make People Have Babies?
How governments are encouraging people to have more children to offset a demographic crisis
More than half the world’s countries are not producing enough babies to offset the number of deaths. Russia is the latest to experience a dip in the fertility rate, despite the government rolling out measures to encourage people to have more children. They have tried mortgage subsidies, giving couples days off to have sex, and rewarding fruitful mothers with the grand prize of a refrigerator. But the fertility rate continues to drop.
It is a situation that governments in Spain, Singapore, Germany, South Korea and Japan all face. Many are calling this a demographic crisis, so this week we are asking how do you make people have babies?
Presenter: Helena Merriman
Producer: Xavier Zapata
(Photo: Smiling baby, Credit: Shutterstock)
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How do you get dads to do more childcare?
Duration: 01:22
Broadcasts
- Thu 14 Jun 201802:06GMTBBC World Service Online, Americas and the Caribbean, UK DAB/Freeview & West and Central Africa only
- Thu 14 Jun 201803:06GMTBBC World Service South Asia & East Asia only
- Thu 14 Jun 201806:06GMTBBC World Service East and Southern Africa & Australasia only
- Thu 14 Jun 201807:06GMTBBC World Service Europe and the Middle East
- Thu 14 Jun 201814:06GMTBBC World Service except News Internet
- Thu 14 Jun 201819:06GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa, News Internet & West and Central Africa
- Mon 18 Jun 201803:06GMTBBC World Service Australasia
- Mon 18 Jun 201805:06GMTBBC World Service South Asia
- Mon 18 Jun 201806:06GMTBBC World Service East Asia
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