As Polish politicians fret about a looming demographic crisis, new statistics from Norway show that Polish mothers in the Scandinavian country are outdoing Norwegians in the ratio of children born.
According to Norway's official SSB statistics office, the average Polish woman gives birth to 2 children, whereas for Norwegian-born mothers, the level is 1.8.
Back in Poland, the level of child birth is as low 1.3.
The pattern of Polish mothers raising bigger families abroad is echoed in developments in the UK and Germany.
Research by Britain's Office for National Statistics found that the average Polish-born woman in England and Wales gives birth to 2.13 children, higher than the level for British nationals (1.9 children).
In Germany, Polish women have an average 2.1 children.
Norway's Polish community (about 84,000) is smaller than its counterparts in the UK and Germany, but Poles in the Scandinavian country outdid all other immigrant groups in the number of children born in the 2011-2013 period.
Polish mothers gave birth to 3240 children, followed by Somalians with 2750.
Analysts note that as much as 13 percent of Norway's GDP is spent on social welfare.
In Poland, demographers predict that over the next four decades, the population of Poland will drop to 29 million from the current 37 million.
The Polish coalition government, led by the centre-right Civic Platform party, unveiled new concessions for families in August 2014 as a means of combating the demographic crisis. (nh)
Source: Dziennik Gazeta Prawna
Ewa Malcher
