Australia is the midst of a ‘baby recession’ according to analysis from KPMG. The number of births recorded here in 2023 was 289,100 – the lowest number seen since 2006.
The drop represents a 4.6 per cent decline in births year-on-year.
Terry Rawnsley, urban economist at KPMG, told The Guardian stretched household budgets in a cost-of-living crisis meant many families delayed having children or put off having more kids.
“We haven’t seen such a sharp drop in births in Australia since the period of economic stagflation in the 1970s, which coincided with the initial widespread adoption of the contraceptive pill,” he said.
Australia is not alone, with birth rates in most developed countries nosediving in recent years. Right across the world, governments are trying to convince young people to have children – but the economic proposition isn’t great.
Mr Rawnsley says if the decline can’t be stopped, Australia will be forced to increase immigration levels in order to keep the economy afloat.
The economic fallout from shrinking birth rates is already being felt in countries such as Japan and South Korea – two countries historically very resistant to immigration. Will we see the same thing here?
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