A growing number of people are voluntarily choosing child-free lives, challenging societal expectations, a new report has shown.

The 2025 State of World Population report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) reveals that a significant number of young men and women do not plan to become parents, and not due to infertility or delay.

This shift marks a departure from traditional norms that equate adulthood and success with childbearing.

“This lifestyle choice appears to be increasing, as is the growing tolerance of childlessness as a legitimate decision,” reads part of the report.

According to the report, the motivations are diverse and complex. For some, it’s due to economic uncertainty, climate change, or instability.

Others cite the demands of parenting, especially under rigid and unequal gender norms, as major deterrents.

A 2024 study by Salgado and Magalhães, cited in the report, found that many women opt out of motherhood due to unequal caregiving burdens and workplace sacrifices, pointing to parenting norms that disproportionately affect women as a key influence on the decision.

“These facts raise questions about the degree to which remaining childless is always an unconstrained choice. If conditions enabled people to have the children they desired without fears of sacrificing planetary health, personal career goals and individual happiness, would they all still choose to go without children?” reads part of the report.

The choice not to have children is not necessarily a rejection of children, according to the report.

Rather, for many, it reflects a desire for personal freedom, career fulfilment, or environmental sustainability.

Still, cultural tides may be shifting. In countries with persistently low fertility rates, such as the Republic of Korea, social spaces like restaurants and cafes are increasingly adopting “no-kid zones,” reinforcing the normalisation of child-free lifestyles.

The report suggests that the fewer children people see in their daily lives, the more likely childlessness becomes embedded in social norms.

However, despite this increasing acceptance of diverse life choices, women and men who choose to remain childless continue to face societal stigma of being selfish, immature or unnatural.

Some governments have also moved to criminalise what they term “childfree propaganda,” raising alarm over attempts to restrict reproductive autonomy.

The UNFPA cautions that such policies may do more harm than good.