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Published on: 02/26/2026 - 17:38
For the first time since the end of World War II... more people are dying in France than are being born. Europe does not give birth. Japan is shrinking. Fertility rates are falling in most countries of the world. One in six people on this planet...cannot have children. The number of sperm around the world has been declining for decades. But what if the problem is not in the body?
An entire generation postpones childbirth. He is afraid of the climate... of the economy... of tomorrow itself.
So...are we facing an infertility crisis? Or a crisis of hope?
In this episode of “In the Space of the Forbidden,” Salma Bungara asks: Will the world stop having children... because it no longer believes in tomorrow? Is childbirth a matter of public policies, or an intimate individual decision that is not subject to the logic of political mobilization?
Infertility: What do the medical numbers say?
According to the World Health Organization, one in every six people globally suffers from infertility. In France alone, the number of people of reproductive age facing fertility difficulties is estimated at more than three million.
During the episode, Dr. Ghassan Azar, a specialist in gynecological surgery, obstetrics and infertility, explained that the rise in these numbers does not necessarily mean that we are facing a historically unprecedented phenomenon, but rather it may reflect the improvement of diagnostic tools and the rise in health awareness.
Declining male fertility: scientific fact or ongoing controversy?
The study by researchers Shanna Swan and Hagai Levine sparked widespread controversy after observing a significant decline in sperm counts globally over the past decades. Although scientific debate continues about the explanation for this decline, multiple research points to a possible link between fertility and increased exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, in addition to modern lifestyles, such as sedentary activity, obesity, and processed nutrition.
"Biological clock": scientific data or social pressure?
The average age of a mother at first birth in France is 31 years. United Nations data indicate that the probability of a natural pregnancy is 25% at the age of twenty-five, and declines to 12% at the age of thirty-five, then to 6% at the age of forty.
Medicine confirms that there is a natural biological decline in fertility with age, but the societal debate goes beyond the medical aspect. Some voices believe that the concept of “biological clock” is sometimes used as a tool of social pressure on women.
Medical assisted fertilization: expanding options or compensating for biological loss?
Assisted medical fertilization represents about 4% of births in France, compared to about 10% in Denmark. This rise may reflect a development in medical capabilities and an expansion in access to technologies, but it also raises a profound question about the extent to which medicine is able to compensate for the natural decline in fertility with delayed reproductive age.
The ability to have children or the desire to have children?
Although infertility rates are similar between rich countries and countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the average fertility in Africa exceeds four children per woman, compared to less than two children in Europe. This discrepancy reveals that the issue is not only related to biological ability, but also to the desire to procreate.
Data from the French National Institute for Demographic Studies (INED) show that the average number of desired children among young people between 30 and 34 years old has decreased, from two children in 2005 to 1.9 today.
Why does the desire to have children decline?
Researchers have identified several possible factors shaping this shift: rising housing and education costs, labor market fragility, rising individualism, and more demanding parenting standards. Nobel laureate Claudia Goldin has also documented the phenomenon of the “occupational penalty of motherhood” and its impact on reproductive decisions.
A YouGov poll showed that 24% of French adults doubt their desire to have children due to climate anxiety. Demographer François Héran believes that the concerns of younger generations are not limited to the economy, but extend to the future of democracy and the planet.
Are public policies adequate?
France is one of the countries in the world that spends the most on family policies, yet birth rates continue to decline. This reality raises a pivotal question: Do public policies actually affect the decision to have children, or is the decision linked to deeper cultural and value shifts that the state cannot control?
Many demographers believe that fertility rates essentially reflect a society's level of confidence in its future. If this confidence declines, the willingness to have children may decline with it.
Between collective interest and individual freedom
At the core of the demographic debate is the tension between the needs of the state—such as the sustainability of the pension system and the labor market—and the freedom of individuals to make their own reproductive decisions. Can immigration be part of the solution? Does the way out lie in improved quality of life and economic stability? Or are societies experiencing a profound transformation in their relationship to the idea of expansion and the future?
Episode guests
Ayman Zohri — expert in population and migration studies, Cairo - Egypt
Hassan Al-Qassar — Professor of Demography and Social Sciences, Tunis, Tunisia
D. Ghassan Azar — Specialist in Gynecological Surgery, Obstetrics and Infertility, Beirut - Lebanon
Ahmed Harqan — Blogger, Italy
Fadwa Rajouani - human rights activist, Agadir - Morocco
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