The Fertility Rate in the EU Societies and Life Satisfaction of Contemporary Europeans

Abstract

Abstract This is a common knowledge that demographic trends in the EU Member States does not ensure the substitutability of generations. Trying to explain the situation we usually point at cultural changes. Presuming that everyone looks for a meaningful life that brings satisfaction and sense we shall ask if contemporary European perceive parenthood as an important condition of that kind of life. The aim of the article is to test the correlation between the life satisfaction and a low fertility rate in the European Union countries, in general, and in Poland, in particular. The relevant data were provided by the Eurobarometer and CBOS.