Booming babies

France is one of the few European countries whose population growth comes from births rather than immigration.

According to the country’s statistics agency INSEE, more babies were born here during 2006 than in any year in the past quarter of a century. Over 830,000 babies arrived in that year (the highest number since 1981) taking the French population to 63.4 million.

The fertility rate is now two children per woman, up from 1.92 in 2005. INSEE reports this has been climbing since 1996, but has still not reached 2.1, the rate considered adequate to replace a population in developed countries.

The government says the figures are a victory for its family-friendly healthcare policies, cheap day care, generous post-natal parental leave and a wide range of other social and financial benefits.

08.03.2007

More on the subject:

Related articles

Photo

News • In situ printing of biodegradable implants

Fixing bone fractures with a glue gun? Not as crazy as it sounds

Historically, implants to repair bone fractures have been made of metal, donor bone, or even more recently 3D-printed material. Now, scientists propose an in-situ printing approach - using a modified…

Photo

News • New method to study embryonic implantation

Improving the odds for assisted reproduction

Assisted reproductive technologies like IVF are held back by the fact that more than half of all embryos fail to implant into the uterus. Now, new research explores ways to improve these odds.

Photo

News • Vital sign measuring without wearables

Monitoring heart rate with WiFi signals

Traditionally, measuring heart rate requires some sort of wearable device. Now, new research shows how the signal from a household WiFi device can be used for this crucial health monitoring.

Related products

Subscribe to Newsletter