Women in Armenia are postponing having children due to financial problems

Over the past 25 years, the average age of women having their first child has been increasing. According to official data, in 1990 women gave birth to their first child at age 23, and at 25 in 2016. The number of women having their first child in the 35-39 and 40-44 age ranges have increased as well.

Specialists believe that the main reasons for this are social problems. Women don’t want to have children because they receive low salaries, or because their husbands can’t adequately provide for the family’s needs.

Varduhi Gevorgyan, chairwoman of the NGO Union of Progressive Women told JAMnews that women mostly give birth around the same age as when they get married, and are deliberately getting married later now.

“There are couples that get married, but don’t want to have children because they don’t consider themselves to be well-off, and worry that they will not be able to provide for a child’s minimum needs. Many young people don’t have an apartment and put off getting married until they can solve their housing issue. Girls used to agree to live with their in-laws, but now young people prefer to live separately. So, they wait until they have an apartment,” Varduhi Gevorgyan said.

One specialist noted that women are often marrying later because career development is important to them and because they can’t find a suitable partner because in Armenia there are fewer men than women. Another reason for late childbirth is men emigrating in order to earn money abroad.