The Low Countries Growing Old. The Second Demographic Transition

An essay which asserts that in the 1960s the Low Countries entered on a ‘second demographic transition'. The number of divorces rose, the birth rate fell and cohabitation increased. And today we see a rapid rise in the number of one-person households. In the Netherlands this second demographic transition was more rapid than in Belgium. In fact, the Netherlands is among the leaders in the field of late parenthood: the average age at which a woman has her first child is rising steadily. And the phenomenon of an aging population is common to both countries.