Slovakia

Fertility Trends in the Socioeconomic Context

At the beginning of the 21st century, Slovakia manifested a trend of sharply declining fertility rates. In 2007, Slovakia had the second lowest fertility level within the European Union, registering a total fertility rate of 1.25 children per woman of reproductive age (between 14 and 49 years of age). This is a significant drop from 2.09 children per woman achieved in 1990 and 3.5 children per woman in the 1950s. While it was traditionally the primary role of a woman to take care of the children, during the communist era (1948–89), women became fully engaged in the paid labor force. During this era, the traditional Catholic values of the population were complemented by the social policies of the socialist state. Women generally married quite young after completing high school or college (the average age for women to marry was around 21 years of age) and the average age for a woman to have the first child was 22 years of age.

Three-quarters of all children were born to women between the ages of 20 and 29. Most women continued to work after they had children, as the government created a network of fully subsidized nursery schools and preschools. Almost all the children born at this time were born to married couples (90 percent). The prevailing family model of the era consisted of a traditional nuclear family with two parents and an average of two children.

These trends changed significantly in the 1990s. The fall of the communist government in 1989 brought financial and social insecurity to the country, as well as increasing unemployment and rising real estate prices. At the same time, more opportunities for educational and professional development for young men and women became available, leading them to postpone marriage and children. The average age at first birth has increased to 26 years.

State Family Policies

The Slovak government battles low fertility rates by providing one-time financial subsidies to parents at the birth of the first, second, and third child. Parents of dependent children, regardless of their marital status, then receive long-term financial support and benefits. Prenatal care remains free of charge for all women, and is a requirement for the disbursement of parenting benefits. Employed mothers are entitled to 28 weeks of paid maternity leave. Afterward, parents have the option of taking a government-paid parenting leave until the child's third birthday; this is still predominantly used by mothers. In addition, local governments continue to support, although not fully subsidize, nurseries and preschools.

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