Change in the number of births in Poland in the context of the introduction of the government’s Rodzina 500+ program

Аннотация

The adverse demographic situation in Poland is from the mid-1990s, set the next consecutive governments the challenge of creating family policy instruments that would be beneficial for increasing the number of births. In February 2016, the government of the Republic of Poland introduced a law on state aid in the upbringing of children. The aim of the article is to assess the changes in the number of births in Poland in the context of the government program Rodzina 500+.The time range for which the data was analyzed covers the years 2014-2017, in few fragments the data came from the period 1991-2016. In this article was selected a region with relatively low fertility in south-western Poland (Opolskie, Śląskie and Dolnośląskie). On the other hand, the best fertility rates have been recorded in the Pomorskie, Wielkopolskie, Mazowieckie and Małopolskie. In 2016, over 12,000 children were born in Poland more than in 2015. The largest changes in the number of births occurred in the Mazowieckie, Małopolskie and Wielkopolskie. The article presents the dynamics of the change in the number of births, and compiled the actual number of births with the Central Statistical Office’s population forecast for 2014-2050. As a result of the comparisons, the estimated number of births for all voivodeships in Poland was underestimated. In response to the aim of the article, in the author’s opinion, the government program Rodzina 500+ has an impact on increasing the number of births. An author agrees with the statement of other authors that the increased number of births in the first years of the program’s operation is the effect of accelerating births postponed. The government program Rodzina 500+ should be treated not as the main tool of family policy but as an important supporting tool.