Two bills extending the length of parental leave and improving childbirth benefits were set to be submitted to the House on Tuesday as part of measures to fill demographic gaps, Labour Minister Yiannis Panayiotou told the House ad hoc demographic committee.
According to data he presented at the meeting, the fertility rate was at its highest in 1992 with 2.5 and had now subsided to 1.39 births per woman. Since 2002, the rate was between 1.5 and 1.3 and had remained below 2.1 – considered the replacement level – since 1996.
Furthermore, in 2002 the average age for childbirth was 26.7 years, which rose to 29.8 in 2022.
MPs said that with the current rate, the population would halve in the next 25 years.
The policy framework decided on by the cabinet and announced by the president was discussed at the meeting and Panayiotou said demographic recovery was a national priority.
Panayiotou elaborated on the measures included, saying the aim was for more people to be eligible and thus reverse the falling population seen in previous decades.
He added that the positive course of the economy allowed for more benefits for people, which would influence their decisions towards having more children in an attractive environment.
This, he said, would turn the current figures of an ageing population around.
Panayiotou expected that changing the trend could be achieved “over the next few years”.
MPs said the measures were a step in the right direction and that more should be added to help families grow.
