Not Even a Pandemic Makes Them Change Their Family Plans: The Impact of COVID-19 on Fertility Intentions in Austria

Abstract

While researchers provided insights on the impact of the pandemic on childbirths, there is limited research on how the aftermath of the pandemic has shaped thoughts about family formation in the medium to long term. Our analysis explores perceived consequences of the pandemic on individuals' family plans. We focus on Austria, a high-income country, characterized by a history of stable and low fertility and deeply rooted conservative family and work arrangements. Using a large representative survey carried out in fall 2021, we study self-assessed consequences of the pandemic on family plans among women aged 20–45 years and men aged 20–50 years. Results show that only 7.6 percent of respondents intending (further) children before the pandemic changed their plans due to the pandemic. Women, persons of later reproductive ages, and parents of two or more children were more likely to intend to have less children or to have them later than initially planned. Nevertheless, the mean intended family size has remained almost unchanged since the mid-1990s. Overall, the long-term impact of the pandemic on family plans can be expected to be modest in Austria. Not even the pandemic made (most) respondents in Austria change their family plans.