In Poland, the decision to have a child is no longer based upon tradition but financial resources and employment, a new report finds.

According to the Central Statistical Office, more babies are being born in urban areas than in rural ones – with the traditional family model of many children in the countryside disappearing.

A woman residing in a rural area still gives birth to more children than an urban-dwelling female, but this is quickly changing. Future parents are running away to the city to earn more money and in search of a better quality of life. In 2002, 41,300 more children were born in cities than in the countryside, and in 2009 that number increased to 75,500.

The lowest birth rates are reported in poor eastern regions such as Podlasie and Lublin, while the highest is in the richer central and western regions of Pomerania (+0.39), Mazovia (+0.33) and Greater Poland (+0.28).

“Poles in their thirties usually migrate to large cities and set up a family there,” says sociologist Ryszard Cichocki from the Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, adding that it is a European tendency which has been adopted in Poland with a slight delay.

Since 2006, Poland has a positive birth rate but future prognoses are not optimistic. According to the Central Statistical Office, by 2035, the number of Poles, which now stands at 38 million, will decrease by 2 million. (mmj/mg/jb)

Source: Rzeczpospolita