 Apart from exceptional cases, such as East Germany in 1980–1986 and Bulgaria in 1970–1980, space standards in newly built dwellings rose before the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc.Housing size varied considerably across time, especially after the oil crisis in the Eastern Bloc; for instance, 1990-era West German homes had an average floor space of , compared to an average dwelling size in the GDR of in 1967.Poor housing was one of four factors, others being high female employment and education levels and abortion access, which led to severely declining birth rates throughout the Eastern Bloc.