Only 11.5% of people with childcare responsibilities in Malta used childcare services in 2018, the lowest percentage in the European Union.

Malta is preceded by Romania (16%), Spain (17%), the United Kingdom (18%), Croatia (20%), Ireland, Italy and Cyprus (all 22%).

In contrast, in Hungary (60%) and Denmark (59%), more than half the population with childcare responsibilities used childcare services.

They were followed by Latvia and Slovenia (both 48%), Luxembourg (44%) and Portugal (43%), Sweden (42%) and Lithuania (41%). 

According to Eurostat, the statistical arm of the European Union, the most frequently reported reasons for not using childcare services were “own arrangements or arrangements with partner” (47% of those who reported not using childcare services), “children take care of themselves” (18%) and “informal support” (15%). 

In 22 EU states, “having own arrangements or arrangements with partner” was the most frequently reported reason for not using childcare services, with the highest shares in Latvia (74%), Austria and Slovakia (both 65%), and Hungary (64%).

In the remaining six EU states, “children take care of themselves” was the most frequently reported reason: Finland (63%), Denmark (55%), Estonia and Sweden (both 52%), Slovenia (46%) and Luxembourg (28%). 

In the EU, 27% of employed people with childcare responsibilities adapted their work to facilitate childcare. These changes included “reduction of working time” (10% of employed people with childcare responsibilities), “change of job or employer” or “family leave” (3% each), “any change to increase income” (2%), “less demanding tasks in job” (1%) or other changes (10%). 

Additionally, 28% of people with childcare responsibilities reported using childcare services for all children, with a higher share reported by the employed (31%) compared with the unemployed (19%) and inactive (14%). C

Correspondingly, 72% of people with childcare responsibilities reported not using childcare services for all or some of their children. 

Ireland recorded the highest share of people reporting childcare responsibilities, combined or not with care for incapacitated relatives (42% of population aged 18 to 64), ahead of Sweden and Luxembourg (both 35%), Estonia and France (both 34%).

In contrast, the lowest shares were recorded in Bulgaria (24%), followed by Germany (26%), Croatia, Greece and Austria (all 27%). 

Across the EU states, the share of employed persons having adapted their work to facilitate childcare responsibilities varied considerably; ranging from 7% in Romania, 9% in Slovakia and 10% in Croatia to 50% in the Netherlands and 54% in Sweden.

Eurostat said among the 308 million people aged 18 to 64 in the EU in 2018, just over one third (34%), or 106 million people, reported care responsibilities.

These involved caring for their own or a partner’s children under 15 years of age (89 million people, or 29%), incapacitated relatives (13 million, 4%), or both children and incapacitated relatives (4 million, 1%).

Caring for children included having children in the household or taking care of children outside the household.

More women than men (37% women, 32% men) reported care responsibilities across all categories of care in 2018: care responsibility for own or partner’s children (30%, 28%), for incapacitated relatives (5%; 3%), and both (2%; 1%).

 

 

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