Governments around the world are exploring ways to encourage people to have more children and reverse the decades-long decline in birth rates.
A concern with fewer babies being born, especially in developed countries, is that it could lead to an aging population, with not enough working-age people to support the elderly. The fertility rate (the average number of births per woman) to maintain population levels without immigration is generally considered to be 2.1.
Some countries, such as Hungary, Poland and France, have implemented financial incentives to encourage people to have children, including income tax exemptions, universal child benefits and family allowances.
The declining birth rate is a complex issue that cannot be attributed to a single cause but has been heavily impacted by shifts in culture and financial difficulties, especially after the 2008 crash, which is often cited as a major reason people are having fewer children.
Indeed, 39 percent of 14,000 people questioned across 14 countries said financial constraints prevented them from having the family size they desired, according to a United Nations Population Fund study conducted in June.
Newsweek has compiled a list of countries offering financial support explicitly designed to help people have kids:
Poland
Just this week, Poland introduced a zero-income tax law for families with two or more children earning up to 140,000 zloty (roughly $38,395) a year.
Poland also runs a Family 800+ program, a universal child benefit that was increased to 800 zloty ($219) in January 2024.
Hungary
Mothers who have four or more children are exempt from personal income tax. Hungary also offers CSOK Plus, a state-subsidized family housing loan that provides low-interest mortgages and partial debt forgiveness for married couples who commit to having children.
France
Families with two or more children receive “allocations familiales,” a means-adjusted payout that depends on the number of children a couple has.
Italy
The “Assegno Unico e Universale” (Universal Child Allowance) gives a monthly allowance for children, with the amount depending on family income and number of children; the 2025 update raised the thresholds.
Estonia
Estonia offers an additional tax-free allowance for parents with two or more children: €1,848 for the second child and €3,048 for each child from the third onward claimed on the annual tax return. Estonia also provides paid parental leave/benefit that can be used until a child turns three.
Russia
Russia offers Maternity (Family) Capital, a lump-sum grant for births/adoptions that families can use for housing, education, or pensions, indexed over time.
Turkey
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared 2025 the “Year of the Family,” adding new cash supports for births, including a one-off 5,000 TL ($120) for the first child and monthly payments for subsequent children, as well as other family incentives.
South Korea
As of 2024, South Korea pays parents ₩1,000,000 (around $694) per month for infants under age 1 and ₩500,000 during the second year, plus existing birth grants, described as a “monthly salary for parents” by the country’s Ministry of Health and Welfare/Presidential Committee.
Japan
Japan’s “Acceleration Plan” expands the Child Allowance and reduces childbirth/education costs to make marriage and child-rearing more affordable, overseen by the Children and Families Agency.
Vietnam
Vietnam ended its two-child policy in 2025 and is rolling out local incentives, such as cash rewards and benefits, to raise fertility.
Singapore
Singapore offers the Baby Bonus, a government program that gives cash gifts to new parents and sets up a Child Development Account, a special savings account that the government matches to help pay for child care and education.
United States
The American government has been vocal about this issue, with Vice President JD Vance saying in January: “We failed a generation not only by permitting a culture of abortion on demand but also by neglecting to help young parents achieve the ingredients they need to lead a happy and meaningful life.
“Our society has failed to recognize the obligation that one generation has to another as a core part of living in a society. So let me say very simply, I want more babies in the United States of America.”
The Trump administration has explored giving women a “baby bonus” of $5,000, according to an April New York Times report, while lawmakers have also looked at making childbirth free for privately insured families and tying states’ transportation funding to their birth and marriage rates.
It has also introduced programs such as the “Trump Accounts” announced in June, a $1,000 tax-deferred investment account for American babies born during Trump’s second term.
But it has stopped short of implementing explicit financial incentives designed to encourage people to have more children the way other countries have, despite support for initiatives like Hungary’s from major figures such as Elon Musk and calls from the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank behind Project 2025, for incentives such as government-seeded savings accounts for married couples.
Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment.
