City folks these days just want to start a family
Even with their sky-high rents, crowded transport networks and lack of greenery, research out today has found that many people think major cities are the perfect place to start a family.
The study by the international pensions unit of Allianz discovered that the birthrate in 41 major European and US cities is seven per cent higher than the national average for the rest of the country.
In the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, the birthrate was a massive 51 per cent higher than the rest of the country.
In the UK, London's birthrate is eight per cent higher than the rest of country, while Birmingham's is 17 per cent higher. However, Manchester and Liverpool bucked the trend, with a birthrate lower than the national average by four per cent and 12 per cent respectively.
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In the US, the birthrate in Dallas is 17 per cent higher than the national average, while, in New York, the birthrate is five per cent above that of the rest of the country.
"Surprisingly, cities with some of the highest living and housing expenses also show an excess birthrate compared to the national average," said Brigitte Miksa, head of international pensions at Allianz. "These include New York City, Munich, London, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Oslo."
There is, however, a catch to the findings. Because overall birthrates have declined, only two of the cities studied – Dallas and Birmingham – had a fertility rate of 2.1 sprogs per mother or higher, which is the rate the population needs to reproduce at if a generation is to replace itself without immigration.