Mumbai — Namrata Nangia has been thinking about a second child since her daughter turned five. But every time she and her husband run the numbers, the answer is the same.
“Can we afford it?” she asks. “Everything is just so expensive.”
From school fees to swimming lessons, even a simple GP visit, the costs of raising one child in India’s financial capital are daunting. “It’s not like when we were kids,” Namrata says. “Now, it’s not just school it’s school plus everything else.”
Namrata’s dilemma is far from unique in fact, it’s now part of a growing global trend. According to a new report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), fertility rates are dropping sharply in many countries. Not because people don’t want children but because life, increasingly, gets in the way.
A Global Slowdown
The UNFPA, the UN’s agency focused on reproductive rights, has described the drop in fertility as “unprecedented.” Its latest report, based on a 14-country survey, reveals that one in five respondents has had or expects to have fewer children than they wanted.
The reasons vary. But money and time top the list.
Across all countries surveyed from Brazil to South Korea, India to Sweden nearly 40% of people said financial constraints were holding them back from growing their families. In South Korea, that number rose to 58%. In Sweden, it was just 19%.
“This is not just about economics,” said Dr Natalia Kanem, head of the UNFPA. “It’s about how people live. Most people still want two or more children but they don’t see how they can make that work.”
‘The Real Crisis’
Demographer Anna Rotkirch, who advises the Finnish government, says the data confirm a broader shift in reproductive expectations.
“More people are undershooting their fertility goals than overshooting,” she said. “That’s now clear not just in Europe but globally.”
Even among those over 50 long past their childbearing years 31% said they had fewer children than they had hoped for.
This survey marks a shift in focus for the UN, which has traditionally concentrated on reducing unplanned pregnancies and expanding access to contraception. But this time, the agency is ringing the alarm over a different issue: people who can’t have the families they desire.
“We’re calling it a crisis,” said Dr Kanem. “And that in itself is new.”
Beyond Biology
Surprisingly, only 12% of people cited infertility as a reason for having fewer children. But that figure rose in certain countries: 19% in Thailand, 16% in the United States, and 13% in India.
For most, though, the problem isn’t medical it’s practical.
Time or the lack of it is a major factor. Namrata, who works in pharmaceuticals, spends three hours each day commuting in Mumbai’s grinding traffic. Her husband works long shifts at a tyre firm. By the time she’s home, there’s barely enough energy to eat dinner and help her daughter with homework.
“After a full day at work, you have that mum guilt,” she said. “You want to be present, but you’re exhausted. That’s why we’ve decided to just focus on one.”
A Cautious Path Forward
The UNFPA is urging governments not to panic. Dr Kanem warned against rash population policies that swing wildly between extremes.
“We’ve seen countries go from worrying about overpopulation to panicking about not enough births in a matter of decades,” she said.
China, Korea, Japan, and Thailand once urged smaller families. By 2015, they were offering incentives to boost birth rates. Some nations, experts warn, are now using the fertility slowdown to push nationalist or socially conservative agendas.
“We don’t want countries reaching for manipulative or reactionary fixes,” said Prof Stuart Gietel-Basten of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. “This is a moment to be thoughtful, not knee-jerk.”
What Comes Next
This 14-nation survey is only the beginning. The UNFPA plans to expand its research to 50 countries later this year, hoping to better understand how people view family, choice, and the realities of modern parenthood.
Namrata, meanwhile, continues to juggle the demands of work and motherhood knowing that time and cost have already answered the question she keeps asking.
“You want to give your child the best life,” she says. “But sometimes, that means stopping at one.”
