Data show barriers to partnering and parenting.

 Societies are “heading towards a demographic cliff”, according to some headlines. The “global baby bust” is the result of a “feminist revolt”, others speculate. Behind the hyperbole is a kernel of truth: Population data do show that around the world fertility rates are falling. Yet many of the attendant claims, from the threat of human extinction to the role of feminism – are rooted in myths and misogyny.

Today, UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, which is the UN’s sexual and reproductive health agency, is releasing findings from its Demographic Futures Survey, one of the largest, most geographically comprehensive surveys to date exploring what young adults want for their reproductive futures. Over 108,000 Internet-connected young adults, aged 18 to 39 from 73 countries, were asked what they want when it comes to relationships, children and the future – and what they feel is standing in their way.

These young adults, from every geographical region showed remarkable agreement over what is keeping them from forging partnerships and having children: money and housing.

This finding, and many more, can help us put to rest some of the misconceptions surrounding fertility decline. Below, we start with five of the biggest.

1. Myth: Feminism is responsible for birth rate declines.


This claim has been repeated in headlines and hot takes around the world. Yet UNFPA has decades of evidence – from its work with health providers and survivors of gender-based violence, and from its data collection for the Sustainable Development Goals – showing that women are actually often unable to exercise agency over their bodies and reproduction. About a tenth of women are unable to make choices about contraception, a quarter are unable to make decisions about their own healthcare, and a quarter are unable to say no to sex. This information alone gives us reason to question the claim that global fertility decline is the fault of feminism or women’s empowerment.

Fact: Today, the Demographic Futures Survey brings us one of the most robust and current bodies of evidence on this topic – and it shows us that most people, men and women, want children. Two is the ideal number in most parts of the world, and in some regions, people on average want more than two. Women are not refusing to have children. They – and men, too – face obstacles to having them. And the most commonly cited obstacles are financial security, stable employment and housing.

Furthermore, the survey found that attitudes around family-related choices are actually relatively consistent between men and women. While there are some differences – such as men being more likely than women to disapprove of parents divorcing while having young children, and all respondents being more disapproving of mothers with young children working full-time jobs compared to fathers of young children – these gaps tend to be minimal.

On the other hand, women’s rating of barriers to childbearing was consistently higher; every single barrier to having children (financial concerns, infertility, chronic health issues, etc.) was considered more important by women than by men. Again, this suggests that declining fertility rates are not the “fault” of feminism or women’s attitudes, but the burdens that all young adults face, which are often disproportionately heavy for women.


2. Myth: Young people are rejecting marriage and parenthood.


From kitchen tables to think tanks to parliaments, many assume that young people are refusing both marriage and children. Solutions, the thinking goes, should involve promoting marriage and childbearing.

Fact: The Demographic Futures Survey shows us that marriage and parenthood are still widely held goals. Over two thirds of respondents see marriage as their ideal.

But the path to marriage and parenthood is challenging. Almost 80 per cent of respondents say partnership is an important precondition for becoming a parent, the survey finds. This mirrors what UNFPA has seen in its youth programmes: “Finding the right partner is important because I believe that raising a child should be a shared responsibility with emotional and financial support from both parents,” a young woman from India shared with us last year.

Yet not everyone is finding a partner. Out of all respondents aged 25 to 39, approximately one quarter say they want a partner but are currently single and not dating. Men were more likely to say this than women.

What are the biggest barriers to getting married or being in a stable, cohabiting relationship? The largest proportion of people, 57 per cent of respondents, cited economic and housing constraints.

3. Myth: “Collapsing” teen birth rates are a problem for societies.

This myth is often expressed in alarmist tones. Some even claim falling adolescent pregnancy rates threaten humanity with extinction. Is there any merit to this claim? No.

Fact: Adolescent fertility rates are declining – this is a public health success. It means more girls are able to complete school and avoid the health consequences of early pregnancy; many of them will still go on to become mothers.

Declining adolescent fertility has significantly contributed to overall global fertility declines, research shows. But that does not mean it is a problem, nor does it mean we should encourage more adolescent parenthood. After all, the goal should not be to change people’s minds about when and whether to become parents, but to create the conditions that enable them to responsibly realize their aspirations on their own terms. “Bringing a child into the world is only one step. The real challenge is raising them,” a young man in Paraguay told UNFPA.

Here is where data from the Demographic Futures Survey give critical insight. What is keeping people from having the children they want? Financial security, stable employment, and psychological and emotional readiness are the top three most important preconditions for parenthood, the survey finds. This offers specific areas, from education policies to community health services to job security and work protections, where policymakers can take action to meet people’s own stated needs.

4. Myth: Young adults are too selfish to have children.
5. Myth: People are not sufficiently incentivized to become parents.

These last two myths are linked. The first assumes that young adults are simply too focused on themselves – too busy having fun, perhaps – to undertake the hard but necessary work of parenting. The second assumes that the rewards of parenting should be material. If people do not require children for labour or eldercare, and if children are expected to simply consume their parents’ resources before moving away, the thinking goes, then people will naturally forgo parenthood. Both presume selfish motives for having or not having children.

Fact: The Demographic Futures Survey shows that the most common reason respondents gave to become a parent is the joy and happiness children bring.

Most of the survey respondents already have children, and the vast majority of those without children by ages 35 to 39 (79 per cent of men and 72 per cent of women) still want to become parents.

Most people are not selfishly refusing to become parents, nor are they waiting for babies to promise a better return on investment. Among all respondents, of all ages, 80 per cent said the joy of parenthood is a key factor. Having children for utilitarian reasons, such as government encouragement or because children are needed for the future workforce, was the least motivating for prospective parents.

Handwringing over the partnering and parenting choices of young people (especially young women) is an age-old pastime. But the survey released today offers a more productive and positive path forward for policymakers – one responding to people’s stated goals and concerns, one based on evidence instead of assumptions.