STOCKHOLM, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- Sweden recorded the lowest number of births in 16 years in the first six months of this year, according to official statistics released on Thursday.
"A total of 54,560 children were born during the period, which is a decrease of 6.7 percent compared to the same period last year. It is the lowest number of newborns since the first half of 2006," Tomas Johansson, a population statistician at Statistics Sweden, said in a press release.
The number of births was lower every month than the corresponding months last year. This April registered more than 1,000 fewer births compared with last April, the biggest monthly decline of the first six months, according to Statistics Sweden.
Gunnar Andersson, a demography professor and head of the Stockholm University Demography Unit, told Xinhua the drop could be explained by several factors.
"When people were homebound during the COVID-19 pandemic, many families decided to get their second or third child sooner than they would have done otherwise. Then, when mass vaccination started, it signaled the end of working from home and many decided to wait with growing their families," Andersson said.
He also believed that the decline in birth will continue due to soaring inflation and global uncertainties such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
"Especially those who were planning to have their first child may now postpone it as they have low confidence regarding the future, which means that the number of births will most likely remain at a low level for the foreseeable future."
According to Statistics Sweden, the country's total registered population stood at 10,487,859 as of June 30 this year. ■
