France has the highest birth rate in Europe. With an average of 2 children per woman, France registered some 800,000 new births in 2006, just reaching the 2.1 level needed to reproduce the population. Couples are beginning to have children earlier again while older women are also having children: first children born of women 40+ make up 4% of France’s new births. This means that only 1:10 French women decide never to have children, compared to 1:4 for Germany. France’s relatively high birth rate is attributed to a range of public aide (family support allowance), tax relief, infrastructure and services (day care centres, free kindergartens as of 3 years old, school cafeterias) which combine with a flexible legal and social structure for families and France’s generous social security system, education system, employment guarantees and housing policies. The result is that while France boasts the highest birth rate in Europe, it also claims the highest percentage of women in the workforce: 8 out of 10 women between 25-45 are active in the workplace. The birth rate coupled with the high percentage of women in the workforce, are the key reasons why France is the largest market in Europe in value terms for baby foods and drinks.
The Situation in France compares sharply with that of neighbouring Spain, Italy and Germany. The birth rate has been stuck around 1.3 in both Spain and Italy for several years. The Spanish government is putting in place tax relief as of the first child and, in 2006, adopted important measures to help equalize pay between men and women. Important hurdles remain however, notably the availability of affordable housing and day-care centers. In Spain, 63% of 25-29 year olds still live with their parents, reflecting the tight rental and new-housing market while the lack of day-care centre means that new mothers often rely on their parents to look after babies if they want to work. Italian couples face similar hurdles: too-expensive housing, a lack of baby-care facilities and an insecure job market. According to the World Bank, Italy allocates just 0.3% of its GDP to baby-care facilities (crèches, pre-kindergarten) and 0.58% of GDP for family allowances. This compares to 1.23% and 1.46% respectively for France. Equally, crèches and pre-Kindergarten day-care centres look after 6% of Italian and Spaniard under 3 year olds, and 10% of German under 3 year olds. In France, nearly a third (29%) of under 3 year olds are in day-care centres.
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