The fertility rate in Europe reached 1.34 children per woman in 2024, its lowest level since the data series began in 2001, according to Eurostat. It stood at 1.38 in 2023. The European Union recorded 3.55 million births, 3.3% fewer than the previous year. France remains the country with the second-highest fertility, behind Bulgaria.
Eurostat released these figures in two stages: national data on 6 March 2026, followed by a regional analysis on 27 October 2026. Here is what they tell us, and the limits worth bearing in mind.
Fertility rate in Europe: the 2024 figures
The total fertility rate measures the average number of children a woman would have over her lifetime if the patterns of a given year stayed the same. It is not the number of children women have actually had.
- 2024: 1.34 children per woman in the European Union, a new low.
- 2023: 1.38.
- 2022: 1.46.
- 2021: 1.53, after 1.51 in 2020.
- 2008 and 2010: 1.57, the peak of the recent period.
Over twenty years, the rate has therefore fluctuated between 1.34 and 1.57. The decline has clearly gathered pace since 2021. Eurostat points out that a rate of around 2.1 children per woman is considered the replacement level in developed countries. The statistics office describes a level below 1.3 as “very low fertility”.
How many babies were born in the European Union?
In 2024, 3.55 million children were born in the European Union, compared with 3.67 million in 2023. The number of births has fallen every year since 2022.
The long-term trend is even more striking. Eurostat places the recent peak at 4.68 million births in 2008. The all-time record dates back to 1964, with 6.8 million births. The crude birth rate fell from 10.5 births per 1,000 inhabitants in 2000 to 7.9 in 2024.
Which countries have the highest fertility rate?
Bulgaria came top in 2024, with 1.72 children per woman. It was followed by France, at 1.61, and Slovenia, at 1.52. At the other end of the scale, Malta had the lowest rate, at 1.01, followed by Spain at 1.10 and Lithuania at 1.11.
No EU country therefore reaches the replacement level of 2.1. Even the country with the highest fertility remains well below it. Eurostat notes that the 2024 data for the EU, France, Poland and Romania are estimated or provisional.
France, still second, but also in decline
France’s position does not mean that its birth rate is holding up. The country is following the same downward slope as its neighbours, just from a higher starting point. Our article on births in France in 2026 looks at the monthly data from Insee, the French national statistics institute, which show a decline that is still under way. The full picture for 2025 is set out in our overview of the birth rate in France.
Marked differences between European regions
The regional analysis of 27 October 2026 covers 1,165 regions at NUTS 3 level, roughly the level of French départements or provinces. In 2024, 714 of them were above the EU average, 439 below it, and 12 exactly at the same level.
- The regions with the highest fertility, at 1.75 children per woman or more, are mainly in Bulgaria and France, which account for 14 of them between them. Germany follows with 6 regions, then Slovenia with 3.
- The regions with the lowest fertility, below 1.00 child per woman, are mostly in Spain. Eurostat counts 16 of them in Spain, notably in the north-west and on some islands, 7 in Poland, 5 in Italy and 3 in Greece.
Sardinia is among the areas with the lowest fertility. For Germany, the regional data refer to 2023 rather than 2024.
A first baby later and later
The average age of women at the birth of their first child reached 29.9 years in the EU in 2024. It was 28.8 years in 2013, the first year for which data are available. Mothers are youngest in Bulgaria, at 26.9 years, and Romania, at 27.2 years. They are oldest in Italy, at 31.9 years, and Luxembourg, at 31.6 years.
Across all births, the average age of mothers rose from 29.0 years in 2001 to 31.3 years in 2024. This postponement of births mechanically weighs on the annual rate. It also narrows the window in which a second child can arrive, a question we explore in our article on the age gap between two children.
Firstborns and mothers born abroad
In 2024, 46.6% of children born in the EU were firstborns. This share exceeds half in Portugal, Malta, Luxembourg and Spain. In addition, 24% of babies in the EU were born to a mother born abroad. This proportion reaches 68% in Luxembourg and 42% in Cyprus.
What these figures say, and what they don’t
These data describe a trend, not its causes. Eurostat does not offer an explanation for the decline in these two releases. A few points can nonetheless help avoid misreadings.
- An annual indicator can fall because births are being postponed, without the final number of children per woman falling to the same extent.
- The 2024 figures are partly provisional, particularly for France: they may be revised.
- The European average hides wide disparities, both between countries and between regions of the same country.
For families, these figures change nothing about the reality of each birth. They do, however, shed light on debates about early childhood support, parental leave and childcare. In France, the additional birth leave is one of the recent measures presented in this context. Monitoring the health of newborns, such as the figures on premature birth in France, completes this demographic picture.
Key takeaways
- The fertility rate in Europe fell to 1.34 children per woman in 2024, a low not seen since 2001.
- The EU recorded 3.55 million births in 2024, 3.3% fewer than in 2023.
- Bulgaria (1.72) and France (1.61) remain at the top, while Malta (1.01) and Spain (1.10) bring up the rear.
- No country reaches the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman.
- The first child arrives at an average age of 29.9, compared with 28.8 in 2013.
Sources
- Eurostat, “EU fertility rate at 1.34 live births per woman in 2024”, news item of 6 March 2026.
- Eurostat, “Record-low fertility, with differences across EU regions”, news item of 27 October 2026.
- Eurostat, “Fertility statistics”, Statistics Explained, data extracted on 19 February 2026.
