Working paper 33(2015)

Increasing childlessness in Europe:
Time trends and country differences

By Anneli Miettinen, Anna Rotkirch, Ivett Szalma, Annalisa Donno, and Maria-Letizia Tanturri

Abstract: This paper provides an overview of trends in female and male childlessness in Europe over the last decades and explores associations between cohort childlessness and national demographic and social indicators. We also estimate proportions of voluntary childless people. Results show that childlessness has increased at ages 30–34 and 40–44 years among both men and women throughout Europe, with few exceptions. Childlessness is more common among men with little education, and among women with either very high or very low education. Childlessness is higher in countries where mean age at marriage is high and entry into motherhood is on average more delayed. Childlessness remains negatively associated with proportions ever married, and also with completed cohort fertility. The last association has even grown stronger in the youngest cohorts, suggesting that in a low fertility context, increasing childlessness contributes markedly to overall fertility. The prevalence of childlessness does not seem to be associated with proportions of women with high education, with women’s employment rates and with divorce rates at country level. Higher childlessness is found in countries with widespread individualist values.

Posted March 3 2015 – Read more