Polish women in the UK have a higher fertility rate than British women and are also producing more babies than their counterparts who have stayed in Poland.
The figures, which come from the Centre for International Relations, showed that Polish women who have settled in the UK have a fertility rate of 2.48 compared to 1.84 for British-born women; it is the second largest rate in the country, behind only Pakistani women.
The centre believes that the presence of the NHS, together with a better benefits system for mothers than exists in Poland, is leading to more women from that country deciding to give birth in the UK. In Poland, parents get a one-off payment of £220 and child support is only available for those earning less than £150 a week. The increased fertility rate means that there are now 130,000 Polish children under the age of 14 living in the UK.
Krystyna Iglicka, a researcher at the Centre for International Relations, said: “Contrary to popular belief, today we are no longer dealing with short-term migration, but settlement. The decision to give birth to a child in another country is an attempt to make roots there.”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1366063/Polish-population-growing-faster-UK-Poland.html
