Spain is Europe's worst for family benefits-study

MADRID, Feb 2 (Reuters) Spain is the least generous country in Europe when it comes to government-funded help for families, a survey said.

A lack of benefits was playing a significant part in the country's low birth rate, said the survey carried out by the Institute for Family Policies (IPF).

''It's not the only factor, but it's a very important factor,'' IPF spokesman Eduardo Hertfelder said yesterday.

At present Spain contributes less than 1 per cent of gross domestic product to family subsidies, far below the European average of 2.2 per cent.

''Help for families is generally scarce and directed mostly at the very poor, unlike the rest of Europe that employs bigger and better measures to a broader target,'' the survey said.

France, whose fertility rate has risen to its highest level in 30 years, has put forward incentives for new parents like doubling tax credits for some childcare costs.

Spain's average birth rate is 1.3 children per woman, the government-funded IPF survey said, pushing it to the bottom of the European fertility table alongside Italy and Greece.

It added more children were being born out of wedlock in Spain, with 1 in 4 babies born to unmarried parents -- more than double the rate of 10 years ago.

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