00:02Valentine's Day is coming, and I'm pretty sure you know that.
00:05But do you know that Europe is running out of babies?
00:09Look, your reporter is not here to lecture you on whether to have children.
00:13That's a personal choice.
00:15But if you're planning to discuss it with your loved one this weekend,
00:19let's look at the numbers together and without the pressure.
00:24Europeans are waiting longer to have children
00:27and there is no sign it will change anytime soon.
00:30But here is the twist.
00:32Delaying parenthood doesn't necessarily mean giving up on children.
00:36In fact, the EU countries where women wait the longest
00:39also happen to be the countries with higher fertility rates.
00:43That might explain the explosion in fertility treatments,
00:47which allow couples to extend their window of opportunity.
00:51And according to recent data,
00:53Europe recorded around 1 million treatment cycles in a single year.
00:57So, the desire is clearly there.
01:00In fact, most Europeans still say their ideal family size is two children.
01:06But sometimes they simply cannot afford it.
01:09Over a third of Hungarians cite financial limits as the main barrier to have children,
01:15while 30% of Italians blame job insecurity.
01:18But throwing state money at the problem doesn't always work.
01:23Despite massive pronatal public spending,
01:26births in Poland have almost halved since 1990.
01:30And as for Hungary,
01:31last year they saw the lowest number of babies born.
01:34Ever.
01:36And on the other side of the globe,
01:38South Korea is even more desperate.
01:40The government is paying new couples just to date.
01:44So, if you are dating this weekend,
01:46with or without the intention to procreate,
01:49just remember,
01:50some countries would happily pay for your dinner.
01:53But hey,
01:54don't bring it up on the first date.
01:56It's kind of a mood killer.
