Denmark’s school sex education programme has been so successful the collapsing birth rate is “approaching epidemic” levels, and children will now be taught how to successfully reproduce at school, and encouraged to have children younger to save the Danish people.

The number of Danes born every year is steadily dropping as couples have on average only 1.7 children between them, and a fifth of all couples will never have children. In 2012, only 57,916 new Danes were born, compared to more than 65,000 in 2008.

Although the total population is continuing to rise, this is because of significant immigration inflating figures, and expensive fertility treatment for older couples, which now accounts for one tenth of all born. Today, only 89 percent of Denmark’s population is considered ‘Danish’ by the Government, and over half of immigrant residents are from outside the EU.

The Danish government is concerned that if present trends continue the population will collapse and is attempting to stave off disaster by encouraging couples to have more children, younger. The new campaign in Danish schools flies in the face of previous ‘sex ed’ classes with their focus on avoiding pregnancy, as it will teach children their fertility will begin to decline in their twenties, and leaving starting a family until thirty is too late.

A spokesman for the Danish Family Planning Association said: “When you look at sex education for the oldest students, it’s largely about how not to have children, so there is a focus on prevention, the use of contraceptives and the option of abortion. That means that young people lack knowledge on fertility and pregnancy.

“That lack of knowledge can mean that people end up not having children or not having the number of children they want”.

This point was backed up by the head of a Danish fertility clinic, reports theLocal.dk: “Up until now, our biological expiration date has been overlooked in our zeal to avoid having children when we don’t want to have them.

“On average in Denmark, we began to establish a family when we are around 30 years old. By then half of our reproduction capabilities have disappeared and that means that some people have too short of a time span to have children or have the amount of children they’d like to have”.

Denmark isn’t the only country facing a declining birth rate, although approaches to the problem do vary.

Back in 2006 Russian President Vladimir Putin began a new programme called “Mother Russia” to reverse the declining birth rate by offering families having their second child a £22,000 ($36,000) incentive.

More recently, a valentines day concert part-organised by Putin booked American 1990’s R&B band Boyz II Men to sing their popular song ‘I’ll make love to you’ to get Russian youth in the mood. Although conception rates in Russia for Valentines day 2013 are not available, it is understood that the “Mother Russia” incentive programme has been a success.