GERMANY - Birth Rate Drops Rapidly
The Ifo Institute for Economic Research said in a new report that Germany is seeing a sharp decline in birth rates, with federal states in the east of the country the most affected.
Researchers at the leading economic think tank cited a number of reasons behind the declining birth rate, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine.
“Overall, almost 80,000 fewer children were born in 2022 and 2023 than would have been expected,” said Ifo researcher Joachim Ragnitz.
Ragnitz is an expert on demographic change who studied the trend in eastern Germany. He said that the birth rate “changed massively in the past three years.”
“Politicians would be well advised to monitor these developments more closely, also in order to avoid possible wrong decisions when expanding daycare and schooling,” Ragnitz said.
In the years from 2011 to 2016, Germany’s fertility rate rose from 1.39 to 1.59 due in part to better overall conditions for families with children as well as the arrival of immigrant families with higher fertility rates.
-www.dw.com, 23 October 2024
Arno's Commentary
The statement, “the arrival of immigrant families with higher fertility rates” is significant. Particularly in the Western world, immigrants are frowned upon to a degree, yet they are urgently needed as workers, consumers, and taxpayers.
Several years ago, another research institute stated that Germany needs more 100,000 new immigrants each year in order to effectively operate their gigantic export-oriented manufacturing industry.
While there are outspoken anti-immigrant political candidates and movements in Germany as well as in other European states, the bottom line is still the same: They are urgently needed, and apparently the more the better.
The OECD lists the five most successful countries with their total percentage of foreign-born residents: 1) Luxemborg 41.3%; 2) Australia 29.9%; 3) Switzerland 29.7%; 4) Israel 21.2%; 5) Sweden 19.5%. One thing specifically noticeable is that, contrary to popular belief, the crime rate in these countries is significantly lower than that of countries with a much lower percentage of foreign-born residents.
For Christians, regardless of residency, we have the guarantee, “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19).
Arno Froese is the executive director of Midnight Call Ministries and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed prophetic magazines Midnight Call and News From Israel. He has authored a number of well-received books, and has sponsored many prophecy conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. His extensive travels have contributed to his keen insight into Bible prophecy, as he sees it from an international perspective.
