Europe’s plummeting fertility rate

Subject: Europe’s plummeting fertility rate

According to Eurostat’s data for 2022 and an Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) study, fertility rates in Europe have been declining sharply.

Because birth rates have been falling continuously since 2008, almost one million fewer babies were born between 2008 and 2022.

According to Eurostat, all EU regions have fertility rates below the replacement level of 2.1 live births per woman. Fertility rates in the EU – which are already extremely low in countries like Italy (1.24) and Spain (1.16) – are expected to keep falling.

In view of this, how could the Commission help combat the sharp decline in the fertility rate in the Union?

Submitted:18.4.2024

Answer given by Vice-President Šuica on behalf of the European Commission (21 June 2024)

The Commission is aware that there has been a long-term decline in fertility rates in almost all Member States over the last decade.

The EU's total fertility rate, after slightly increasing from 1.43 in 2001 to 1.57 in 2008 and 2010, has recently decreased to 1.46 in 2022 (1).

The annual total number of births in the Member States has seen a long-term downward trend since the 1960s, which broadly stabilised in the mid-1990s and has fluctuated since then.

The main factors behind declining fertility rates across the EU are a combination of socioeconomic shifts, gender inequality, prolonged education and career paths, changing family dynamics and norms, and the postponement of parenthood (2).

In response to the June 2023 European Council conclusions, the Commission put forward in October 2023 a toolbox (3) to outline the comprehensive set of tools available at EU and national levels to support Member States in managing demographic change and its impacts.

The Commission aims to empower and support all generations to realise their life choices and their potential. One of the four strands of the toolbox is about better reconciling family aspirations and paid work with a view to fostering gender equality, for instance through the Council Recommendation on early childhood education and care which encourages Member States to increase participation in these services.

The available tools should be effectively combined with national and regional policies, considering the competences and diverse circumstances of Member States.

The Commission is committed to support Member States in effectively using the tools at hand and, to this end, to continue developing them further.

1 ∙ ⸱ https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=Fertility_statistics

2 ∙ ⸱ Low fertility in the EU: A review of trends and drivers: https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC137492

3 ∙ ⸱ https://commission.europa.eu/publications/communication-demographic-change-europe-toolbox-action_en