Vive la France!
Good news for the Eldest Daughter of the Church: Experts ponder France's high birth rate. At 1.9, hers is still under the replacement rate of 2.1, though.

But why does she have, after Ireland, the second highest rate in Europe? Here is the pondering of the experts the article mentions:

Researchers admit that their understanding of the relatively high French birth rate still retains a degree of mystery.

"For every rule you can come up with you find an exception," said Grant. Pison agreed: "There is a bit of mystery. We are doing studies but we don't yet have all the secrets."

For example, it is sometimes suggested that because the two most fertile countries in Europe -- France and Ireland -- are mainly Roman Catholic countries, the Catholic tradition of having large families would help explain the high birth rates.

But Italy and Spain, two other Catholic countries, fall near the bottom of the EU list, in 16 and 17th position.

Experts also point out that while France's fertility rate can partly be attributed to generous social support, Ireland is more fertile and does not have as many incentives.

Eunan King, senior economist at NCB Stockbrokers, says Ireland will likely enjoy 15 more years of economic growth of around 5 percent a year thanks to a young, growing workforce.

[link via Seattle Catholic]