The number of births dropped again

The number of births in the Czech Republic in 2023 dropped again and was the lowest in the country in 22 years. This fact reflects the unfavourable economic situation in the country, Jitka Slaba, from the SYRI National Institute and Charles University, said.

"Nowadays, a major part of children are planned, and research from the (COVID) pandemic period has shown that planning offspring is more common among people who perceive their material situation as favourable. However, this assumption was hard to meet in the shadow of the high inflation last year," she said.

With more detailed data available, it will become clear whether people are postponing the birth of their first offspring until a later age, Slaba pointed out. "The other option is a decline in fertility for the second and subsequent children... There is a risk that parents will not only postpone their reproductive plans, but even abandon them altogether," she added.

This would mean that the Czech population would continue to die out without migration, she warned.

The population of the Czech Republic rose year-on-year from roughly 10.83 million to 10.90 million in 2023 thanks to migration only, the Czech Statistical Office (CSU) announced today. Thanks to migration from abroad, Czechia gained 94,700 new inhabitants last year. On the other hand, the natural population change, i.e. the difference between the number of deaths and births, resulted in a decrease of 21,600 inhabitants. The total increase was therefore about 73,000.