ONS reported fertility rate in England and Wales has fallen to lowest level on record

Fertility rate in England and Wales has fallen to its lowest level on record.

Globally, the number of children per woman has more than halved since 1963 , from 5.3 to 2.3 .

Pope Francis recently repeated his concern that people now prefer to have “a cat or a little dog instead of a child”.

NSCU poll found desire to see more of the world’ was as popular a reason not to have children as the lack of affordable childcare.

The falling birth rate reflects much more than the country’s finances, it raises questions about the purpose and value of human life.

In Finland the number of first cohabitations’ leading to children is in decline, and the fertility rates of women in their twenties have almost halved in the past 15 years .

In Sweden , where childcare costs are capped at a maximum of three per cent of the household’s gross income and parents are entitled to 480 days of paid parental leave, the rate stands at 1.52 .

In Finland , which also caps childcare costs at a fraction of the UK average and offers almost a year of parental leave.