Labour Party MP Omar Farrugia stated that Malta’s decreasing fertility rate may be partly caused by expensive properties and high cost of living.
Addressing Parliament on Monday, PL MP Omar Farrugia referred to the recent Eurostat figures showing Malta with the lowest fertility rates in Europe, with 1.13 live births per woman.
Apart from being a significant drop from the EU average of 1.53 births per women, this year’s results are the latest in a downward trend in local fertility since 2013, with the sharpest decreases were registered between 2017 and 2019.
Farrugia credited this downward trend in fertility partly to increasing property prices and cost of living, stating “so young people, or young couples, due to this, decided to wait more to purchase a property. Basically postponing life plans for later.”
“A lot of young families want to have children but when considering a loan, when considering a potential home loan or car loan, does the family have enough disposable income to live comfortably with a child or two?”
Additionally, a study released in September 2022 showed how Maltese men left their parents’ homes on average after the age of 30 during the year 2023. With the European average standing at 27.4 across all countries on the block, Maltese men and women left a little later, with women leaving at the age of 29 as opposed to the European average of 25.5 years of age.
During his discourse, Farrugia also shed light on the stark difference between Malta’s traditional culture, which is heavily dependent on family values, and the feeling of huge failure in the fact that Malta has one of the lowest fertility rates in Europe.
Do you agree with Farrugia’s statement?
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