The fertility crisis in Europe, the countries with the lowest population growth

2024-08-17 21:58:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

In 2022, the number of births in the European Union reached its lowest level since 1960, according to the latest data.

That year, just 3.88 million babies were born in the EU, marking the first time the figure fell below 4 million.

Fertility rates also fell, approaching levels seen two decades ago. The EU had one of the lowest fertility rates in the world, defined as the number of births per woman.

But how do fertility rates in different parts of Europe compare, and how have fertility rates changed in Europe compared to the rest of the world?

There has been a downward trend since 1960 in the number of children born in the EU. The lowest number was recorded in 2022 with 3.88 million.

In 1990, 5.1 million babies were born in the EU, marking the last year that births exceeded 5 million.

In 2022, the fertility rate, which reflects the number of live births per woman, changed significantly in the EU, ranging from 1.79 in France to 1.08 in Malta according to Eurostat, the EU's statistical office.

The average for the EU as a whole was 1.46. Including the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Great Britain and EU candidate countries, Georgia (1.83) and Moldova (1.81) reported higher rates than France.

While the highest fertility rate is observed in France, a Mediterranean country, other Mediterranean countries such as Malta (1.08), Spain (1.16), Italy (1.24), Greece (1.32) and Cyprus (1.37) have significantly lower rates. .

Slightly higher fertility rates were recorded in countries such as Romania (1.71), Turkey (1.63), UK (1.56), Germany (1.46) and Finland (1.32).

Is the fertility rate rising or falling in Europe?

Examination of long-term changes in the EU's fertility rate reveals a clear downward trend.

It was 2.35 in 1970, the highest on record before falling to a low in the late 1990s, reaching 1.4 in 1998, according to World Bank data.

It then began to rise gradually, reaching a final peak of 1.57 in 2016.

In 2022, the total fertility rate in the EU was 1.46 live births per woman, approaching levels seen in the early 2000s, which were around 1.4.

Fertility rates have changed significantly in EU countries over the past 20 years, falling in 13 of the 27 EU Member States between 2002 and 2022.

Ireland and Finland reported the most significant declines in fertility rates, each falling by over 0.4 points, corresponding to declines of more than 20 percent.

Conversely, the Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria experienced the highest increases, each increasing by more than 35 percent.

This rate remained stable in the EU, with only an increase of 2 percent.

The EU has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world

In 2021, the EU reported a birth rate of 1.52, the lowest after the East Asia and Pacific region, which had a rate of 1.49, according to World Bank data.

West and Central Africa had the highest fertility rate at 4.98, followed by East and Southern Africa at 4.35 and the Arab world at 3.14.

The global average fertility rate was 2.27, with North Africa and the Middle East reporting a higher rate of 2.63. The North American rate of 1.64 was slightly above the OECD average of 1.59.

Since 1970, there has been a marked downward trend in fertility rates in almost all regions, although this decline has been significantly slower in Africa.

Fertility rates in all 41 European countries, including the EU, EFTA and candidate countries, are below the global average./ CNA