A new report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has warned that hundreds of millions of people worldwide are unable to have the number of children they want due to the prohibitive cost of parenthood and lack of a suitable partner. The report, which surveyed 14,000 people in 14 countries, found that one in five respondents said they hadn’t had or expected they wouldn’t have their desired number of children.

According to Dr. Natalia Kanem, head of UNFPA, “The world has begun an unprecedented decline in fertility rates. Most people surveyed want two or more children. Fertility rates are falling in large part because many feel unable to create the families they want. And that is the real crisis.”

The survey found that financial limitations were a major barrier to having children, with 39% of respondents citing it as a reason. The highest response was in South Korea, where 58% of respondents said financial constraints prevented them from having a child, while the lowest was in Sweden, where 19% said the same.

However, the survey also found that a lack of time was an even bigger barrier to having children. For many couples, balancing work and family life is a significant challenge. Namrata Nangia, a working mother in Mumbai, spends at least three hours a day commuting to her office and back, leaving her exhausted and with limited time to spend with her daughter.

“After a working day, obviously you have that guilt, being a mom, that you’re not spending enough time with your kid,” Nangia said. “So, we’re just going to focus on one.”

The report’s findings have significant implications for policymakers, who are increasingly concerned about the impact of low fertility rates on population growth and economic development. However, Dr. Kanem cautioned against panicky policies, saying that “we want to try as far as possible to avoid those countries enacting any kind of panicky policies.”

Instead, the UNFPA is urging a more nuanced approach to addressing low fertility rates, one that takes into account the complex and varied reasons why people are having fewer children. As Prof. Stuart Gietel-Basten, a demographer at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, noted, “We are seeing low fertility, population ageing, population stagnation used as an excuse to implement nationalist, anti-migrant policies and gender conservative policies.”