Morocco Sees Sharp 4% Decline in Births Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

According to civil status figures, Morocco recorded a drop of around 100,000 in the number of newborns during the past year compared to 2019. In fact, the number of births went from 749,758 in 2019 to 660,391 in 2020.

Commenting on these figures, Professor Omar Sefrioui, a specialist in obstetrics-gynecology and president of the Moroccan Society of Reproductive Medicine and Fetal Medicine (SMMR), revealed that in Morocco and around the world, there has been a significant drop in the desire to have children since the onset of the Covid-19 crisis, due to fear of the future, particularly in the first months of the pandemic.

"Even after the lifting of the quarantine imposed in Morocco to limit the spread of the virus, the fertility rate has not seen a significant increase, as there is a consensus among most couples to postpone the idea of procreation, due to the economic consequences imposed by the pandemic," observed Professor Sefrioui, contacted by SNRT.

In terms of prospects, Professor Sefrioui warns that the number of newborns will certainly increase but not to the point of reaching the figures for 2018 and 2019. Indeed, "Moroccan couples have been severely affected financially by the economic crisis imposed by the pandemic. They therefore need a lot of time to regain a normal life," explained the president of the Moroccan Society of Reproductive Medicine and Fetal Medicine.

The decrease in the number of newborns linked to the lack of desire to have children is not specific to Morocco but to most countries in the world. As global statistics indicate, the pandemic has contributed directly to a 4% drop in births.