Consequences of Housing Inflation: Decrease in Marriage and Birth Rates

An Iranian newspaper has addressed the consequences of unprecedented housing inflation, stating that the country faced a decrease in both marriage and birth rates last year, which some attribute to changes in lifestyle and the prevalence of single living. The newspaper "Donya-e-Eqtesad" has noted that the reality of the new demographic equation goes beyond this change and has economic roots. Accordingly, it has been announced that studies show the factor of "housing purchase and provision costs" during the years of price surges has acted as a brake on "childbearing." As reported, the onset of the housing inflation crisis initially led to most newlywed couples becoming tenants, subsequently reducing their desire to marry. The report emphasizes that the "excessive rental costs in household budgets" have led to a withdrawal from "having children." The report's author, in examining official data on marriage and childbirth trends over the past decade, reflected a significant relationship between housing inflation and population growth through childbirth. Therefore, it states that a considerable portion of Iranian households, faced with rising costs of purchasing or renting housing, have effectively removed "having children" from their life priorities. In another section of the report, the issue of marriage is addressed, showing that when "housing purchase costs" and "rental costs" experienced sharp increases, official marriage statistics faced the largest annual decline. This occurrence in family formation and "childbearing" has taken place while in recent years the Islamic Republic has been pursuing policies to increase the population in the country. Economic difficulties and the hardship of living in Iran have hindered the formation of shared lives and "childbearing," while policymakers continue to enact new laws to increase birth rates without considering the main influencing factors for this issue. For instance, in one of the latest cases, the Supreme Cultural Revolution Council announced that "marriage and having children will be considered an advantage for membership in the academic board of Iranian universities." The Central Bank of the Islamic Republic also announced in April of this year that marriage and "childbearing" loans would be granted to men who have not completed mandatory military service. These policies intensified after Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, spoke about the necessity of increasing Iran's population to 150 million in November 2013, with officials promoting "childbearing" through various means such as changing school curricula, media, and installing advertising billboards in cities or approving banking facilities. The strategy of "fear-mongering" to promote childbirth; a government-affiliated newspaper wrote about a population of 30 million in the year 1480. Marriage in the style of the Islamic Republic; starting a shared life with installments of 26 million tomans. Management crisis in Iran; newborns' birth certificates are rented out for smuggling baby formula. Shared life has become expensive; a 500 million toman loan for marriages of those born in the 1960s. The "money-dumping" policy for increasing population has reached a deadlock; "childbearing" loans have become unattainable. Approximately 26,000 girls under 15 years old were married in the past year.