In Europe, which nations have the most and least live births per woman?

 

In European countries, the fertility rate, which measures the number of live births per woman, has changed significantly over the last 20 years. Check Details-

During the past three decades, over 4 million babies have been born each year in the European Union, but these numbers are on the decline.

The number of babies born in 2021 was 4.09 million, the second-lowest since 1960. The number of babies born in 2020 was 4.07 million.

Between 2001 and 2021, 11 of the 27 EU member states had a decline in the fertility rate, which measures the number of live births per woman.

What are the highest and lowest fertility rates in Europe? How has fertility changed over the past two decades? How does the proportion of kids with mothers born abroad differ from that of those born here?

France has the highest fertility rate.

In 2021, France had the highest fertility rate among EU members with 1.84 live births per woman, Malta had the lowest with 1.13 live births per woman. The EU average was 1.53.

France (1.81) is followed by Czechia (1.83), Iceland (1.82), and Romania (1.81).

A (partly) Mediterranean nation has the highest fertility rate, while Malta (1.13), Spain (1.19), Italy (1.25), Cyprus (1.39), and Greece have lower live birth rates per woman (1.43).

Fertility rates in other countries are higher than in other countries.

In 2020, the lowest number of children were born in the EU.

There has been a downward trend in the number of births in the EU since 2008, a year in which 4.68 million babies were born in the EU.

Between 2001 (1.43 births per woman) and 2021 (1.53 births per woman), the fertility rate in the EU increased by 8%.

There was the largest increase in the Czech Republic, at 59%, followed by Romania (43%), Slovakia, and Slovenia (both 36%).

The greatest decline is seen in Turkey.

During this period, Turkey, one of the most populous nations in Europe, saw the greatest decline in fertility rates. The fertility rate in Turkey decreased by 29% from 2.38 in 2001 to 1.7 in 2021. In spite of this, the country still has the eighth-highest fertility rate among the top 37 nations.

Furthermore, the fertility rate decreased by 24% in Malta, 16% in Finland, 7% in Portugal, and 5% in the Netherlands, while Spain and France saw a smaller decline (3% each), and the UK saw a decline of only 1%.

A woman's first child is more likely to be born when she is younger. How old is the woman?

In 2021, the average age of first-time mothers in the EU was 29.7 years old. Over time, this age has steadily increased; in 2013, it was 28.8 years old.

The average age of women giving birth to their first child in Italy and Spain in 2021 was 31.6 years old.

At 26.5 years, Bulgaria had the lowest age, followed by Albania (26.6 years) and Turkey (26.7 years).

When they gave birth to their first child, women on average were 31.2 years old in Ireland, 31 years old in Greece, 30.9 years old in England and Wales, 30.1 years old in Germany, and 29.1 years old in France.

What is the nationality of the mothers of these children?

In Europe, the proportion of children born to mothers who were born abroad and those born here vary greatly. From 1% of all children in Serbia to 65% of all children in Luxembourg are foreign-born mothers. This percentage is more than 20% in half of the nations taken into consideration.

In 2021, foreign-born mothers accounted for 29% of the population in Sweden, the UK, and Germany, and 23% in France.

In Poland, Turkey, Lithuania, Slovakia, and Bulgaria, 3% or less of children were born to foreign mothers.

There was an increase in the proportion of children born outside the EU between 2013 and 2021 in the majority of these countries.

Malta experienced the greatest growth, followed by Greece (6 pp), Spain, Portugal, and Romania (5 pp).