Survey Sheds Light on Factors Behind Lower Birth Rate

According to the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH), 77,500 children were born in Hungary in 2024. This is 7,725 fewer (9.1%) than in the previous year, and the lowest annual birth rate recorded in the statistics since 1949. The Anyafalva Maternity Application conducted a survey to shed light on the factors behind these figures.

Most of the respondents (67.9%) are aged 26-35, married, and most have a tertiary education (57.5%). 97.4% have at least one child, most have one or two children, with the youngest child aged 0-2. The survey found that many respondents have deviated from their original plans.

Some have fewer children than they had originally planned (57.2%), while others have more children than they had previously imagined (9.9%). The reasons for the negative change are more often financial (52.9%), work problems (43.8%) or lack of help (32.2%).

The research showed that birth experience is not a determining factor. 57% of the respondents said that it had not negatively influenced their desire to have children, while 10.7% said that they had been completely discouraged by a previous (presumably negative) birth experience and 14.6% said that the experience had had a rather negative influence.

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Meanwhile, the majority of participants rated the social support system – such as the availability of nurseries, kindergartens or the quality of education – as moderately stable. The perception of public health care is also mixed, with many reporting critical experiences. 50.6% consider the current support system to be inadequate, 27.8% feel insecure about the continuity of childcare allowances, while 20.6% think that family allowances help to have children.

The issue of financial security was also a key concern.

A significant proportion of respondents are uncertain about the sustainability of the current situation. The biggest financial challenges are listed:

Rising food and service prices (63%)
Health care (53.7%)
Cost of raising children (51.1%)
Cost of institutions (46.6%)
Housing costs (36.1%)

In terms of social pressure, a total of 31.9% of respondents do not feel pressured to have more children, while the majority do, and 19.4% feel strongly differentiated by the conditions of social support.

One of the most interesting findings of the survey is that many respondents have not yet made a final decision on whether to stop having children. Most respondents indicated that the following factors could change their plans: