Fighting the Demographic Winter—An Evaluation of Hungarian Family Policy for the Last Ten Years

Abstract

These days as well as the past decades, the demographic relationship between European countries is best characterized by low fertility rates and the resulting aging population and low birth rates. Members of the European Union, including Hungary are faced with similar issues in the stagnation and decrease in the number of births and the fact that the total fertility rate does not meet the 2.1-value necessary for a population’s reproduction. The European Union does not have a family policy and member states have different needs on a national level. Each country uses various methods to combat the challenges resulting from a “demographic winter” based on their own cultural background and financial capacities. This study examines the increase in fertility rate in Hungary between from 2010 to 2019 which occurred despite the fact that women tend to have their first child at an increasingly older age. As a result of Hungarian family policy, the fertility rate in Hungary increased from 1.25 to 1.55 during the past decade. In my study I’m going to examine the actions that led to this. This study will also give credence to the fact that a coherent family policy can have positive effects on demographic processes.