Couple-without-children families account for more than half the projected growth of all families, increasing from 513,000 in 2013 to 757,000 in 2038 (up 244,000).

While this figure includes "empty nesters", there is also an increasing proportion of New Zealand women remaining childless.

In 2006, 16 percent of women aged 40-44 years were childless. The proportion in 1981 was 9 percent. A similar increase was found in the next age group women aged 45-49 years.

For women born in 1975, indications are that around 1 in 4 may remain childless. As childlessness increases, the remaining women will need to have more children if New Zealand is to achieve current levels of fertility.

For example, if one in five women remain childless, the remaining women would have to average 2.6 children for New Zealand to achieve a total fertility rate of 2.1 births (the accepted replacement level fertility for a developed country).

This data was revised 5 September 2016 and is based on information previously published on 22 June 2012 and 5 June 2008.

There are a number of reasons for childlessness.

• Infertile people cannot have children
• Some people choose not to have children
• Others who would like to have children have not done so because of their circumstances, for example, not having a partner or not feeling they have enough money.

Two years ago, Statistics NZ demographer Dr Robert Didham told the Population Association's biennial conference in Hamilton that more New Zealanders are ending up unintentionally childless because they are focusing on their careers and leaving children until it's too late.

Didham said the figures pointed to a high and rising rate of "involuntary" childlessness where people planned to have children but, owing to educational and career priorities, did not get around to trying until too late.

Source

• Scoop
• stuff.co.nz
• New Zealand Statistics
• New Zealand Herald
• Te Ara
• Image: Huffington Post

The initiative in the parish in Staggia Senese in Tuscany is aimed at helping local people have larger families.

But the offer comes with strings attached.

To qualify for the baby bonus, couples must already have at least two children, have been married in a church, be residents of Staggia and they must be Italian.

The bonus money is given to parents on the day of the child's Baptism.

Since the start of the year, four families have already been granted the cash.

Parish priest Fr Stefano Bimbi hopes to extend the offer to non-Italian families soon.

The parish has appealed for more contributions.

The money would give "concrete support during difficult economic times to families with the courage to accept the gift of a child", the priest said

The town of Staggia has just over 2000 people and the bonus is a way of incentivising residents to have larger families.

"The parish economic board voted unanimously in favour of the initiative," Ansa reported Fr Bimbi as saying.

"We don't have a huge amount of money but the 'baby bonus' will continue until funds run out," he added.

The financial incentive follows a similar initiative by the Italian government, which promised low-income families NZ$135 a month for each child under 3 years old.

Italy's population growth is almost zero, due to a low national birth-rate.

At the end of 2014, the number of births in the year minus the number of deaths gave a negative balance of almost 100,000, Italy's worst level since World War One.

There were almost 12,000 fewer births in 2014 than in the previous year.

At the end of 2014, Italy's population was 60,795,612.

Sources

• Religion News Service
• The Local.IT
• The Local.IT
• The Telegraph
• Image: Hormonal Harmony