Almost a third of young Europeans do not want to have children

About a third of young Europeans do not want to have children, citing economic insecurity and personal priorities as reasons, and 70% argue that access to fertility preservation would provide greater freedom of choice.

According to a survey involving more than 30,000 young people in 12 European countries, the desire to be parents remains alive among European youth, but is no longer unanimous.

More than two in three (67%) consider themselves well informed about fertility, a lower figure compared to the level of literacy they say they have about contraceptive methods (80%), a difference that reflects a gap in reproductive education, especially when less than half (49%) said they had discussed these topics with a health professional.

The data collected indicates that 33% claim to have little or no information about the factors that influence the ability to get pregnant.

Seven in ten believe that access to fertility preservation techniques — such as egg or sperm cryopreservation — at a younger age would allow them to decide more independently if and when they want to have children, and 77% argue that these options should be more publicly discussed to combat stigma.

Over the past four years, the Future Barometer, developed by Merck, has sought to understand the expectations and concerns of new generations about the future of Europe, including topics such as health, innovation, sustainability and parenting.