More births in Poland in 2016
PR dla Zagranicy
Victoria Bieniek
01.02.2017 07:27
Some 16,000 more babies were born in Poland last year than in 2015, the Central Statistical Office has said, ten months after the government introduced new state benefits for families.
Photo: pexels.com
According to Zdzisław Sipiera, the Mazowieckie Province Governor, many parents are deciding to have more children because of the government's flagship 500+ programme.
Under the scheme, the government gives PLN 500 a month for each child in low-income families, and for second and subsequent children in all other families.
“There has been a boom, which is very good information,” Sipiera said.
In total, some 385,000 children were born in 2016, while Family Minister Elżbieta Rafalska has said that in 2017, some 410,000-420,000 births are expected.
According to Rafalska, November saw the most babies born in a single month since 2011, adding that subsequent months should see increasing numbers of births.
Rafalska also said that if January statistics confirm this trend, the 500+ programme will prove to have had a better effect on birth rates than the government had predicted. (vb/pk)
Source: IAR