Some 185,000 babies were born in the Netherlands last year – 20,000 fewer than in 2000 – according to new figures from the national statistics office CBS. The CBS says the drop is due to the fact that far fewer girls were born in the 1970s.

Women still have an average of 1.8 children; a figure unchanged since the 1950s. Of women now in their 50s, around 15% have not had children, the CBS said. It expects that figure to reach 20% among the younger generations.