OpEd: Empowering young people to create the families they want in a fair and hopeful world

Male, Maldives – This year, as we celebrate the world population day under the theme “Empowering young people to create the families they want in a fair and hopeful world”, we turn our attention to dropping fertility rates across the world. Policy makers, media and even the general public are increasingly sounding alarm bells, often sowing panic about “depopulation”, “population collapse” and even human “extinction”. Yet the latest State of World Population report reveals that the actual problem is not declining fertility rates – nor is it the current unprecedented 8 billion world population size. The real crisis is millions of people worldwide not being able to have the number of children they want - whether they desire more, fewer, or none at all.

Among the most affected are young people. They are the ones making these crucial and difficult choices as they embark on journeys to adulthood and beyond.

Empowering young people for adulthood is crucial. Optimistic youth are more likely to pursue their desired lives, yet many express worry and uncertainty about their futures, hindering desired fertility rates.

The threats to their future are unprecedented: climate disasters, economic instability, and rising global conflicts lead many to fear their world will be less hopeful than their parent's. It's common for young people to feel cheated, believing current systems are unresponsive to their realities and have robbed them of their futures.

Youth leadership and participation can make a difference. Leaders concerned about population trends should heed young people's voices and acknowledge their legitimate concerns. They need not only conditions enabling free, informed reproductive choices but also hope for a future where those choices are supported.

Intergenerational solidarity benefits all. Fairness across generations is fundamental to sustainable development, well-being, and peace. The recent Socio Economic Drivers of Low Fertility report reveals major contributing factors.

Many women and professionals alike who were interviewed in Maldives pointed out that the high cost of living—especially in Malé—is a big reason why families stay small. Housing, food, and childcare are expensive, and people feel they need to keep their jobs just to manage. One woman said, “We both work full time. Who will care for another child?”

Yet, four to six thousand people migrate to Male annually in search for better opportunities and access to services. In the Maldives more than seventy percent of the inhabited islands have less than one thousand residents. This trend is like six islands becoming uninhabited every year. Those who remain in the islands are the older generations, women and children.

The reality for many Maldivian women and couples with two incomes, it’s hard to balance work and family life. Long hours and the fear of losing jobs—especially during maternity leave—make it harder to think about having children. As one person put it, “After working so hard, she’s afraid to lose everything... job insecurity is real.”

Many women who work in formal employment are in the civil service, education and health sectors. The private sector and the tourism sector has very few Maldivian women working. The next majority of women work in informal home based work.

Beyond managing work and household responsibilities, women are increasingly carrying the burden of elder care, particularly for their parents — highlighting the need for stronger support systems.

While younger generations idealize shared parenting and smaller families (2–3 children), women still carry the main burden of childcare. Male dominance in reproductive decisions remains significant. Despite joint decision-making being reported, most women lacked full reproductive autonomy. In the Maldives 99% of care work is done by women.

Education and career advancement were prioritized by youth over early childbearing. Many young women expressed disinterest in having additional children due to emotional stress, lack of institutional support, and rising divorce rates. It looks quite alarming that about 16% of young Maldivian women of 18-25 see the ideal number of children for their own family as zero.

Rising infertility, early sterilization, and excessive cesarean rates are pressing medical concerns. A large share of surveyed women of the reproductive age (18-49) reported having no children or unsuccessful pregnancies. Medical professionals link infertility to Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), obesity, and lack of early screening. Maternity care quality and trust remain low, especially in public settings. Many participants in the interviews and focus group discussions were mentioning unpleasant first experiences with delivery or pregnancy, naming it as a cause of refusing to have another child.

Interviews with policy makers revealed an absence of a coherent population policy or integrated data systems. Health and employment data remain siloed, impeding effective multi sectoral planning. Stakeholders acknowledged that without coordinated national strategies, fertility-supportive policies remain fragmented and ineffective.

To support reproductive decision-making and improve fertility outcomes, the Maldives needs a coordinated, gender-sensitive, and evidence-based policy measures as follows:

● Develop a national population policy embedded in a broader population and development framework, informed by integrated data systems.

● Introduce adequate housing options for extended families with children, especially in Greater Malé, and incentivize child-friendly residential development as well as family friendly work environments in the tourism sector.

● Expand maternal and paternal protections in both public and private sectors, standardizing leave policies and introducing flexible work arrangements.

● Improve childcare services, by subsidizing and co-funding extended-hour daycare centers to ease work–family balance, encouraging employers to provide workplace childcare.

● Improve access to fertility care, including nutrition across every age for prevention of metabolic syndrome and subsidized treatment for PCOS and infertility, routine screenings, more affordability of IVF treatments, and ethical standards for reproductive services.

● Strengthen fertility and health education through culturally appropriate school curricula, male-inclusive public health messaging, and parent–child communication programs.

● Promote sports activities and a healthy lifestyle from an early age.

● Promote equal sharing of unpaid care and domestic work between men and women.

● Promote access to decent work and ensure young people have equitable access to housing, and financial services needed to build secure lives.

● Invest in youth mental health services, including life skills education to support relationships, parenthood, and family pressure.