This article is adapted from AQ’s special report on Latin America’s demographic transformation | Leer en español | Ler em português
MONTEVIDEO—For more than 25 years, Jardín Sonrisitas (“Little Smiles Kindergarten”) taught kids their ABCs in Villa del Cerro, a working-class portside district in Uruguay’s capital. But in December, the beloved kindergarten closed: one of three local creches to shut in as many years.
Today, the building’s shutters are pulled down, its outdoor play equipment piled to one side. The reason is simple, said Catalina Clara, 38, whose six-year-old daughter was one of the last four students: “People aren’t having many kids anymore.”
In fact, only about 29,000 babies were born in Uruguay last year—down from about 49,000 a decade ago, reaching lows last seen in the 19th century. Deaths have outnumbered births for six years straight. As the number of school-age children shrinks, an additional 80 private schools in Greater Montevideo are projected to close by 2030. Even at those still open, many sense a new era is underway. “For us Latinos, large families have a positive connotation,” said Ignacio Cassi, the principal of Montevideo’s prestigious Colegio Seminario, where the student body has shrunk 10% in five years. “It’s hard not to feel a certain nostalgia.”
