Figure 4.22: Population density in Europe. Europe’s population is not growing, a fact that raises concerns about future economic conditions as the population ages. Many governments now encourage large families, with generous maternity and paternity leave (up to 10 months with full pay), free day care, and other incentives. However, few countries have seen much change in their population growth rate. A major reason for this is that more women now either work or want to work than ever before, so they are delaying childbearing and families remain small. As this trend shows no signs of decreasing, some officials are looking toward increased immigration as a possible solution. On the other hand, Europe has been attracting large numbers of immigrants for decades, and Europeans are increasingly wary of hosting large populations of foreigners who might not share their values.