The UK’s fertility rate is falling faster than any other G7 nation, new analysis has shown, and people think they might know why.
Research by thinktank the Centre for Progressive Policy (CPP) has discovered that the figure has dropped by an astonishing 18.8 per cent in 12 years.
That number represents the biggest proportion fall across the G7, and is followed by Italy, the United States and Canada, while Germany saw a rise.
Ben Franklin, interim CEO for the CPP, said they believe “austerity and the austerity drive” across the country was “the principal factor” in driving down fertility rates during that period.
He described it as happening “to a faster extent” in the UK than in other countries because “austerity was quite significant here, and more so than in other countries”.
Others on social media also shared their own thoughts on why people feel less able to have a family today, and most concurred with Franklin’s conclusion.
Related: ‘I am patriotic, I pay my fair share of tax’ – UK billionaire shows others the way