French claim Europe fertility crown -- but shun marriage
France overtook Ireland as the fertility champion of Europe in 2007
France overtook Ireland as the fertility champion of Europe in 2007 but a majority of babies are now being born out of wedlock, according to new census figures released on Tuesday.
With 1.98 children per woman, France's fertility rate is now ahead of Ireland on 1.90, according to the latest government figures, and well above the European Union average of 1.52.
Babies born to unmarried couples represented 50.5 percent of all French births in 2007, compared to 48.4 percent the previous year and merely 5.9 percent in 1965, according to the French national statistics institute INSEE.
Sociologist Irene Thery told Le Parisien newspaper this was the "logical outcome of a major revolution... Gradually, it's the child who has come to make the family, not the marriage."
Pro-birth public policies, including free universal public schooling from the age of three, and the childcare subsidies for infants are credited in part with the increase in fertility.
With a total of 816,500 babies born last year, France's fertility rate has dipped slightly since 2006, however, when it passed the symbolic mark of two children per woman.
The average age of first-time mothers, rising year on year, stood at 29.8 years.
France's overall population -- comprising mainland France and overseas territories -- totalled 63.753 million on January 1, 2008, swelling by 400,000 since the previous year.
But despite a high fertility rate, the French population continued to age, with over 65 year-olds making up 16.3 percent of the total, compared to 15 percent in 1994.
French women had Europe's longest life expectancy, with a girl born in 2007 expected to live 84.4 years, and a boy 77.5 years -- a three-month increase on 2006 in both cases.(Agencies)
法國生育率歐洲第一 非婚生兒超過一半
據本周二公布的最新人口普查數據，法國取代愛爾蘭，成為2007年歐洲“生育冠軍”，但其中大多數為非婚生兒。
據政府最新統計數據，去年法國的生育率為1.98（每個婦女平均生子數量），超過了愛爾蘭的1.9，同時大大高出歐盟的平均水平1.52。
根據法國國家統計局的統計數據，去年法國的非婚生兒數量佔新生兒總數的50.5%，而前一年的這一比例為48.4%，1965年僅為5.9%。
社會學家艾恩·特裏在接受《巴黎人報》的採訪時說，“這是一個重大變革帶來的必然結果。……如今，孩子漸漸成為構建家庭的決定因素，而不再是婚姻。”
政府出臺的各項鼓勵生育的政策是法國生育率上升的一部分原因，法國兒童從三歲起就可享受免費公立教育，而且生育家庭可獲得新生兒津貼。
去年法國新生兒數量達到81.65萬，但出生率略低于2006年。2006年法國出生率突破了“2”這一具有象徵意義的大關。
法國女性頭胎生育的平均年齡逐年上升，目前已達到29.8歲。
截至2008年1月1日，法國總人口（包括法國大陸和海外領土）數量達到6375.3萬，比前一年增加了40萬。
盡管生育率較高，但法國的老齡化趨勢仍在繼續，去年65歲以上人口佔總人口數量的16.3%，而1994年為15%。
法國女性的平均預期壽命位居歐洲各國之首，去年，法國女性和男性的預期壽命分別為84.4歲和77.5歲，均比2006年增加了三個月。
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