Some 56.7% of respondents said conditions in Poland were conducive to raising a family, while 36.6% disagreed, the poll of 1,000 adults conducted May 27-28 via CATI/CAWI methods found.
Men were more optimistic than women, with 60.4% of male respondents holding a positive view compared with 53.4% of women. Parents were also more upbeat than non-parents — 60.7% versus 44.3%.
On whether parenting has become easier compared with 20 years ago, 48% said yes and 41.4% said no. Among parents of children under 18, however, 47.7% said it had become harder.
Costs vs. benefits
Half of respondents said having children brings more benefits than costs, against 36.1% who disagreed. Again, men leaned more positive at 55.8%, compared with 44.9% of women. Parents of children under 18 were nearly evenly split — 46.7% saw more benefits, 44.4% more costs.
Conditions for child development drew strong approval: 81.3% rated them better than two decades ago, with only 13.5% saying they had worsened.
Policy preferences
On incentives, 46.5% supported exempting parents of at least two children from income tax, with backing rising to 57% among parents of under-18s. A separate proposal to levy an additional tax on childless adults was rejected by 71%, with only 19.6% in favor.
Views on greater state financial support for parents were nearly evenly split — 45.9% in favor, 44.2% against — though support climbed to 58.9% among parents of young children.
Housing access emerged as the most broadly supported lever for boosting birth rates: 64% said improved access to housing could positively affect Poland's demographic trends, rising to 73% among parents of children under 18.
A notable 64.7% agreed that childlessness is a result of broader social change that no state policy can reverse.
(jh)
Source: PAP