Two in five people over 50 say they have not had as many children as they wanted – with economic issues, health concerns and fears about the state of the world among the main barriers.

More than half said financial factors such as affordable housing, childcare options and job security were things that had limited, or would limit, their ability to grow their families.

One in four said health issues were holding them back, while a fifth of respondents mentioned fears about global issues including climate change, wars and pandemics.

The findings come from a new survey of over 14,000 people by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) – spanning 14 countries on five continents that are home to a third of the world’s population.

Birth rates have been declining across almost all regions of the world, while life expectancy continues to grow.

There are concerns, from politicians and commentators like Elon Musk, that future generations of working age people will find it more difficult to economically support people of pension age as the ratio of workers to pensioners shifts.

“Vast numbers of people are unable to create the families they want,” said Dr Natalia Kanem, executive director of the UNFPA.

“The issue is lack of choice, not desire, with major consequences for individuals and societies. That is the real fertility crisis, and the answer lies in responding to what people say they need: paid family leave, affordable fertility care, and supportive partners.”

Differences around the world

The survey was carried out in four European countries, four in Asia, three across Africa and three from the Americas.

The countries were picked to try and represent “a wide variety of countries with different cultural contexts, fertility rates and policy approaches”, according to the report’s editor Dr Rebecca Zerzan.

It includes, for example, the country with the lowest fertility rate in the world – South Korea. It also includes country with a birth rate among the highest in the world, which also happens to be the most populous country in its continent – Nigeria.

The others, in order of population size, are India, the US, Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, Germany, Thailand, South Africa, Italy, Morocco, Sweden and Hungary.

In many cases there were significant differences in responses depending on which country people were reporting from.

For example in Nigeria, a third of men (although only 21% of women) reported that they wanted to have four or more children. The numbers were similar in South Africa. However in South Korea, Thailand, Italy, Germany and Hungary, no more than 5% agreed.

Fertility issues were twice as likely in the US (16% of respondents) as in neighbouring Mexico (8%).

In South Korea, three in five respondents reported financial limitations as an obstacle.

But in Sweden, where both men and women are entitled to 480 days of paid parental leave per child (which can also be transferred to grandparents), fewer than one in five said the same.

How paternity leave in the UK compares to other countries

Birth rates in Sweden are still among the lowest in the world, however. Dr Zerzan told Sky News that this shows that no one factor alone contributes to people feeling empowered to have children at the right time.

“A third of people in Sweden say they think raising a child will take up too much time and energy. And a higher number of people there, compared with other countries, are also concerned about climate change and bringing a child in to an uncertain world.”

Unintended pregnancies vs not as many children as wanted

A curious finding from the survey is that, while there has been much discussion around declining fertility rates, almost a third of people said they or their partner had experienced an unintended pregnancy.

Globally, as people who become pregnant unintentionally often do so more than once, half of all pregnancies are unintended.

In Morocco and South Africa, around half of people had experience of an unintended pregnancy. In the same two countries, more than half of people had experience of being unable to have a child at their preferred time.

Overall, one in eight people had experienced both an unintended pregnancy and barriers to a desired child.

“Everywhere we look, people are struggling to freely realise their reproductive aspirations,” explains the report.

People who had more children than they wanted, and people who had fewer, were present in countries with high and low fertility rates.

“That indicates that barriers to achieving one’s ideal family are ubiquitous.”

What can be done to help?

The report says that the crisis does require political interventions, but warns against policies that often amount to short-term fixes, or those designed to coerce people to either use or not use contraception.

“Whether the policies are coercive or not, there are real risks to treating fertility rates as a faucet to be turned on or off. Many of the countries that are today seeking to increase fertility have, within the last 40 years, sought to decrease birth rates.

“For example, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Türkiye all reported in 1986 an intention to lower their national fertility rates through policy interventions, deeming their respective fertility rates at that time as ‘too high’. By 2015, however, all five countries had switched to policies designed to boost fertility.

“Today all five have total fertility rates below two children per woman.”

The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling, we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.

Top US and Chinese officials are meeting in London on Monday in the hope of making further progress in easing the trade war between the world’s two largest economies.

The eyes of global financial market investors are firmly on the outcome of the discussions, given the damage already inflicted by the spat and wider US-led trade war.

The US delegation is led by Treasury secretary Scott Bessent while China‘s vice premier He Lifeng – a respected negotiator at the top of the Chinese government – will represent his country.

The venue has not been disclosed.

Money latest: Why you probably should not book a hotel on your laptop

It is hoped the talks will build on the preliminary agreement struck in Geneva that removed the effective trade embargo between the two nations.

That deal amounted to a 90-day reduction in effective tariff rates above 100% to allow for further talks.

A phone conversation between Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping last week set the scene for Monday’s negotiations.

Mr Trump later said that Xi had agreed to resume shipments to the US of rare earths minerals and magnets.

They had been suspended by Beijing in response to Mr Trump’s tariffs and were seen as an effective tool in getting the US to talk due to the havoc it inflicted on supply chains central to many American manufacturers – the very sector the US president is trying to bolster through his “America first” agenda.

It emerged on Monday morning that Boeing had resumed shipments of planes to Chinese customers.

Mr Trump has described the status of the negotiations as “very far advanced” but China, in its own remarks, has been more critical of the US position.

A Chinese government readout of the Trump-Xi conversation said the Chinese premier had told his US counterpart to back down from inflicting further hurt to the global economy.

The trade war to date has damaged growth widely, with official US figures showing a sharp slowdown in the first quarter of the year – before the worst of the tariff regime had even been announced.

Data out of China on Monday showed deflationary pressures had deepened as factory gate prices – an important signal on future price growth – slid further into negative territory during May as demand for goods continued to drag.

Customs data had already showed that China’s exports to the US – its biggest single market – slumped by 34.5% year-on-year during May in value terms.

That was up from a 21% drop the previous month.

Read more:
Why Trump blinked in US-China trade war
Diplomatic win for UK by hosting US-China talks

Follow the World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told Fox News: “We want China and the United States to continue moving forward with the agreement that was struck in Geneva.

“The administration has been monitoring China’s compliance with the deal, and we hope that this will move forward to have more comprehensive trade talks.”

A UK government spokesperson said of hosting the negotiations: “We are a nation that champions free trade and have always been clear that a trade war is in nobody’s interests, so we welcome these talks.”

NATO needs a 400% increase in air and missile defence to maintain a credible deterrence, its secretary general has said in a speech in London.

Mark Rutte called for a “quantum leap” in collective security, warning threats facing the alliance “will not disappear even when the war in Ukraine ends”.

Politics Live: Ministers continue to battle over funds ahead of spending review

It comes ahead of a summit in The Hague later this month, when the UK and its NATO allies are expected to agree to a Donald Trump-inspired pledge to spend 5% of GDP on defence and related areas.

New Sky News podcast launches on 10 June – The Wargame simulates an attack by Russia to test UK defences

👉Search for The Wargame on your podcast app👈

Speaking at Chatham House, Mr Rutte said the investment plan is “grounded in hard facts”.

He said: “The fact is, we need a quantum leap in our collective defence. The fact is, we must have more forces and capabilities to implement our defence plans in full. The fact is, danger will not disappear even when the war in Ukraine ends.”

Mr Rutte argued that in order to maintain credible deterrence and defence, NATO needs “a 400% increase in air and missile defence”.

“We see in Ukraine how Russia delivers terror from above, so we will strengthen the shield that protects our skies,” he said.

“Our militaries also need thousands more armoured vehicles and tanks, millions more artillery shells, and we must double our enabling capabilities, such as logistics, supply, transportation, and medical support.”

Mr Rutte also referred to countries other than Russia that pose a threat to the alliance and said: “Russia has teamed up with China, North Korea and Iran. They are expanding their militaries and their capabilities. Putin’s war machine is speeding up, not slowing down.”

He continued: “In terms of ammunition, Russia produces in three months what the whole of NATO produces in a year, and its defence industrial base is expected to roll out 1,500 tanks, 3,000 armoured vehicles and 200 Iskander missiles this year alone. Russia could be ready to use military force against NATO within five years.”

Mr Rutte added: “China is also modernising and expanding its military at breakneck speed. It already has the world’s largest navy, and this battle force is expected to grow to 435 ships by 2030.”

On the threats against the alliance, he also warned: “Wishful thinking will not keep us safe. We cannot dream away the danger. Hope is not a strategy. So NATO has to become a stronger, fairer and more lethal alliance.”

Mr Rutte earlier met with Sir Keir Starmer and visited Sheffield Forgemasters with Defence Secretary John Healey.

The prime minister has committed to spend 2.5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence from April 2027, with a goal of increasing that to 3% over the next parliament.

Although the government’s language has been cloudy on the 3% figure, describing it as an ambition rather than a commitment, Sky News understands the UK will in fact agree to increase defence spending to 3.5% of national income within a decade as part of Mr Rutte’s push to rearm NATO and keep the US on side.

Read More: Spending review 2025: What is it and what might Rachel Reeves announce?

As reported by our security and defence editor Deborah Haynes, Sir Keir will also likely be forced to commit a further 1.5% of GDP to defence-related areas such as spy agencies and infrastructure.

This would bolster total broader defence spending to 5%, in what is being described as the “Hague investment plan”.

👉Listen to Politics at Sam and Anne’s on your podcast app👈

NATO countries have faced pressure from US President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly hit out at European allies for not spending enough on defence and taking advantage of American taxpayers.

Speaking at Chatham House today, Mr Rutte said: “Spending more (on defence) is not about pleasing an audience of one. This is about protecting one billion people.”

He added: “America has carried too much of the burden for too long. America’s allies have broad shoulders, and Europe and Canada will do more for our shared security. And that will be backed by America’s rock solid commitment to NATO.“

The NATO plan to increase defence spending among its members comes as Sir Keir is facing pressure at home on where his priorities lie, with many of his own MPs wanting to see more funding on welfare.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves will deliver her spending review on Wednesday, when health and defence are expected to be the winners in the process to allocate cash to government departments.

Cuts to the Department of Work and Pensions have already been announced, but other unprotected departments like the Home Office and Department of Communities and Local Government could be braced for a real spending squeeze.