Concern raised over Norway's dropping birth rate
Ministers in Norway have acknowledged a problem exists after the country's statistical agency recorded the lowest number of newborns since it started counting in the 19th century.
The downward trend has been going on since 2009, according to Statistics Norway.
Figures showed 55,120 children were born in 2018 in the Scandinavian country of 5.3 million, down from 56,633 in 2017.
Espen Andersen, from Statistics Norway, said the overall fertility rate has dropped from 2.5 children per woman in 1970 to 1.5 last year.
Child and family minister Kjell Ingolf Ropstad said he has asked the Norwegian Institute of Public Health to find the cause for the drop.
