Expectant mums with nowhere to go are being encouraged to make straight for Alcoutim. It’s the borough with the lowest birthrate on record in Portugal and is now offering €5,000 for every baby born in its municipality.
Starting next month, children born in rural Alcoutim will receive €3,000 during their first two years of life, and €2,000 in the third.
But there’s a catch – the money is only available on a refund basis, and the refunds will only be paid for child-related purchases from local shops, or for nursery education fees.
“We realise this measure will not in itself resolve our low birthrate problem, but it might help reverse the current state of things,” Alcoutim’s deputy mayor Paulo Paulino told reporters.
“Right now, more than 60% of the municipality’s population is over the age of 65,” he said – while for every birth in the borough, “there are at least six or seven deaths”.
This year, for example, the borough has registered the lowest number of births per borough in the country, with just two babies born since January 1.
Over the last 50 years, Paulino pointed to a loss of almost 70% of the population.
Other ideas for attracting new blood to Alcoutim include the sale of 20 low-cost development plots and reduced IMI property tax rates.
