The draft Demographic Strategy 2040 presented in June 2021 has been developed based on an analysis of more than 650 sources: scientific studies, surveys and reports from all over the world.

– The foundation of each strategy is a proper diagnosis, i.e. precise determination of the starting point for the planned activities. Only with such knowledge, can we make decisions on the manner of achieving the goal, which, in the case of the Demographic Strategy 2040, has been defined as a way out of the trap of low fertility and approaching the fertility level that guarantees the replacement of generations – explains Marlena Maląg, Minister of Family and Social Policy.

 

However, in order to build a complete picture of what influences the decision to have children, it was necessary to obtain the potentially most up-to-date data on the Poles’ attitudes towards family and parenthood. Therefore, at the turn of 2020 and 2021, the Ministry of Family and Social Policy ordered to conduct surveys aimed at determining the conditions for improving the demographic condition of Poland.

This complex and comprehensive research project has been divided into five stages, which included qualitative and quantitative studies and an analysis of existing documents and studies. The research team was looking for answers to a number of issues having a significant impact on demography, including:

• respondents’ attitudes towards starting a family, getting married and having children;
• attitudes towards work (with particular emphasis on women’s work);
• barriers to starting a family and having a child at the emotional, rational, economic, organisational and social image levels and other interesting issues regarding family and fertility.

The authors of the survey stressed that the surveys show an encouraging picture of the Poles’ aspirations in the area of family. In fact, it turns out that our ideal family is largely a formal relationship, with two, maximum three children, a dog, a detached house in the suburbs. In building a family, the most important are relationships based on mutual respect, understanding, honesty and love. The basis for building relationships is time spent together and talks, sharing passions and travelling.

– The fact that one of the most important foundations of an ideal family is the high quality and depth of relationships among its members is encouraging. As a society, we accept partnership in sharing household and family duties and we expect that every person being part of the family will have room for self-realisation – comments the Undersecretary of State, Barbara Socha, Government Plenipotentiary for Demographic Policy.

At the same time, the surveys showed that despite the dominant family-oriented attitudes, every fifth respondent does not want, does not know whether they want or does not consciously plan to have a child. Among the most important factors influencing the procreation plans of Polish women and men, the researchers identified:

• Age: young people (18-24) as their major priority consider these activities that are to prepare them for entering the adult life and guarantee the life stability which is important to them. Admittedly, they express their will to have their first child more often than the older persons, but these plans are long-term;
• Education: the higher it is, the more often Polish women and men declare their willingness to have another child.
• Occupational factors: Persons who work and/or study declare more often than other persons that they would like to have a child in the future, while the unemployed are not sure, do not plan a child consciously, or do not want to have a child at all. At the same time, for professionally active persons important is a need to better combine work and family life; thus, they point to the fact that commuting to work, work during fixed hours, as well as restrictions on access to nurseries and kindergartens have a negative impact on decisions to enlarge a family.
• Financial and living situation: working respondents declared that the most important factors that could affect their decision to have another child include higher earnings (both of respondents and their partners), improvement in housing conditions (e.g. own or larger flat) and improvement in the health care system.
• Personal values and life priorities: persons whose goal is to have a lot of money, rich social life, peace and quiet, freedom, or travels more often indicate that they do not want to have children than those guided by traditional values.

– This is a very important signal that decisions regarding the family and offspring are extremely complex – and here local actions are out of question. In order to improve the demographic situation of our country in the perspective of several decades, we must act comprehensively, while acting on many areas concurrently – adds Deputy Minister Barbara Socha.

Where it is possible to become familiar with the full survey report

The full survey report can be found on the website of the Government Plenipotentiary for Demographic Policy (gov.pl/demografia) in the Surveys tab, where other interesting sources and links to studies from all over the world are also presented.

Representatives of the Ministry and of the Government Plenipotentiary for Demographic Policy hope that more convenient access to sources will facilitate a substantive discussion about the challenges related to the demography of Poland. Currently, it is taking place as part of public consultations on the draft Demographic Strategy 2040 conducted in all voivodeships and with representatives of interested social groups.