The Isle of Man’s birth rate continues to fall - putting further pressure on the Manx economy.

Births in the island have been falling since 2010 and have now declined by 45% in just 15 years. Deaths have exceeded births in every year since 2014.

In the first half of 2026, births announced by the Jane Crookall Maternity Unit suggest a further drop of almost 3% on the previous year.

Paul Craine MLC, author of the Manx Population Atlas said: ‘Our fertility rate - which relates to the number of births per woman of childbearing age - is well below replacement level.

‘Births have been reducing in number since a peak in 2012 and the recent birth figures, despite a busier July than normal, show little sign of levelling out.

‘Our population is ageing and only inward migration is preventing depopulation.

‘The reduced number of births will mean fewer young people entering the job market in future decades, which will impact on economic growth.

‘More people living longer, but fewer births, create an increasingly unbalanced society. Caring for an ageing population requires more money for hospitals, nursing homes, and social support. With fewer working adults paying taxes, the government faces a funding squeeze.’

Declining births are a problem faced by countries across the developed world.

More than 100 countries, containing 70% of the global population, now have fertility levels below the replacement threshold. But births are generally not falling as fast as in the Isle of Man, Mr Craine said.

He said it is an issue that provides both challenges and opportunities for the next administration - and following the general election the conversation about stabilising births ‘needs to pick up pace’.

Mr Craine said: ‘It has been suggested elsewhere that responding to falling fertility may be more challenging than responding to climate change. Many demographers warn that we cannot rely on declining births to fix themselves.’

Singapore generated international media interest at the end of last month as a result of its response to falling births.

With a small population of 6.1 million, its births peaked in 2012 and have fallen by a comparatively modest 30% in 13 years.

In late August, Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong announced what he called ‘a fundamental shift in how we support families’.

Going forward, every Singaporean child will receive almost S$70,000 (around £40,000) between birth and age 17.

So-called ‘pro-natalism has previously been regarded as a fundamentally abusive policy of totalitarian governments.

But it is now advocated by several leading demographers.

Mr Craine said: ‘We often hear that the Isle of Man offers one of the best and safest places in the world to bring up a child.

‘What else might we do both to enhance and communicate that offer and to provide greater support for young families? What part can employers, retailers and local authorities play? Does government need to move more quickly on affordable housing. Should the “demographic question“ be government’s highest priority?’