Poland's birth rate reaches lowest point since World War II

Poland's population posted its lowest birth rate since the end of World War II, with the number of births falling by 27,000 last year, the central statistics agency GUS announced on Monday.
The number of inhabitants fell by 141,000 to just under 37.8 million in 2022, the agency said.
It reported 305,000 births compared to 448,000 deaths in 2022, the agency's chief Dominik Rozkrut said.
Poland's population has been shrinking since 2013. Efforts by the conservative Law and Justice Party (PiS) government in the heavily Catholic country to increase the birth rate through incentives and restrictive abortion laws have had no effect so far.
Both the opposition and women's rights advocates note that tougher abortion laws introduced about two years ago have had a deterrent effect, as they tend to discourage some women from becoming pregnant.
In October 2020, Poland's constitutional court banned abortions even if the foetus is shown to have severe abnormalities. The measure triggered weeks of protests.
Abortion is now only legal in Poland if the pregnancy endangers the life or health of the mother or if it is the result of rape or incest.