Czechia is declining in population. The number of deaths last year exceeded the number of births.
Last year, nearly 36,000 more residents of the Czech Republic died than were born. And that's the highest difference since 1919! There were also the fewest marriages since World War I. Why are we no longer rushing into marriage and having children?
The number of children in our country is decreasing. And it could get even worse. Czech birth rates are falling to historical lows, heading below the threshold of 1.3 children per woman. Some even speak of a structural break in this context, which will be difficult to reverse. The ideal of two children, which has been typical for our society in recent decades, is gradually being shattered. Among the generation of women born in the first half of the 1980s, the rate of childlessness has even reached around 16 to 17 percent.
Women Are Taking Their Time to Have Children
Last year, only 77.6 thousand children were born in our country, which is the lowest figure in the history of statistical surveys since 1785.
"In addition to a significant decline in fertility, the age composition of current mothers, which includes women from the low birth rate cohorts born in the late 1990s and early 2000s, partially contributes to the decrease in births in recent years,"
stated for LP-Life by the head of the demographic statistics department of the Czech Statistical Office, Terezie Štyglerová.
The current decline in fertility is occurring across the entire age spectrum of women. Compared to 2021, when the total fertility rate reached its highest value since 1992, by 2025 the most significant decrease in fertility occurred among women aged 20 to 24, by as much as 38 percent. However, it also fell by nearly a third among women aged 25 to 39.
The lowest fertility rates are among women living in Prague and Karlovy Vary region, while the highest are among women in Vysočina.
Weddings are no longer "in vogue"
There are several reasons why young couples are having fewer children. Economic uncertainty and less availability of housing play a dominant role. Additionally, some people prioritize their own career over starting a family. Moreover, women are limited by health issues, the inability to find a suitable partner, and simply aging.
Economic analyst Lukáš Kovanda noticed another significant trend in this context. Last year, there were also the fewest marriages at least since World War I. There were only 43,000.
“While the population decline in the Czech Republic is offset by highly above-average immigration from a long-term perspective, there is no improvement in marriage rates, as foreigners are not saving the marriage rate,”
wrote Kovanda on his website.
The economist claims that the era when people entered into marriage with a fresh high school diploma and empty pockets is irretrievably gone. The average Czech groom now gets married at just under 33 years old. And the bride just two years earlier.
The reason again lies in money. While overall inflation here hovers around two percent, the wedding business maintains a much higher rate of price growth. It's no coincidence that young people often spend up to hundreds of thousands of crowns on a wedding.
“If a couple today plans a medium-sized wedding for fifty guests, they should expect that 160 to 260 thousand crowns will disappear from their account, according to data from the website Deník nevěsty. For a young person with an average income, this means that for just one day in white, they have to sacrifice funds that could otherwise serve as a foundation for their own housing or a significant part of mortgage payments,”
explains the analyst, adding that weddings are being deprioritized in the hierarchy of needs of the younger generation after securing a roof over their heads.
Marriage is no longer a prerequisite for starting a family, as evidenced by the fact that in 2024, as many as 47 percent of children were born outside of wedlock. According to him, a wedding balances between a symbol of love and an economic decision, which more and more Czechs prefer to postpone.
Sources: own inquiry, author's article, Czech Statistical Office
