In 2024, the total fertility rate in Europe was estimated to be 1.4 births per woman compared with 2.7 in 1950. The fertility rate in Europe fell considerably between 1957 and 1999, falling from 2.62 to 1.4.

In 2024, Monaco was the European country estimated to have the highest fertility rate. The country had a fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman. Other small countries such as Gibraltar or Montenegro also came towards the top of the list for 2024, while the large country with the highest fertility rate was France, with 1.64 children per woman. On the other hand, Ukraine had the lowest fertility rate, averaging around one child per woman.

The total fertility rate in the European Union decreased by 0.1 children per woman (-6.85 percent) in 2023 in comparison to the previous year. Therefore, 2023 marks the lowest fertility rate during the observed period. Total fertility rates refer to the average number of children that a woman of childbearing age (generally considered 15 to 44 years) can expect to have throughout her reproductive years. Unlike birth rates, which are based on the actual number of live births in a given population, fertility rates are hypothetical (similar to life expectancy), as they assume that current patterns in age-specific fertility will remain constant throughout a woman's reproductive years.

The fertility rate of a country is the average number of children that women from that country will have throughout their reproductive years. In Germany in 1800, the average woman of childbearing age would have 5.4 children over the course of their lifetime. It remained around this number until the late 1820s, when it then dropped to just under five, which was a long-term effect of the Napoleonic Period in Europe. From this point until the end of the nineteenth century, Germany's fertility rate was rather sporadic, reaching it's lowest point in 1855 with an average of 4.6 births per woman, and it's highest point in 1875 (just after the foundation of the German Empire in 1871), with an average of 5.4 live births per woman. From the beginning of the twentieth century until the end of the Second World War, Germany's fertility rate dropped from around 5 children per woman in 1900, to 1.9 in 1945. The only time where the fertility rate increased was in the inter-war years. Like other countries heavily involved in the Second World War, Germany (both East and West) experienced a Baby Boom from the late 1940s to the late 1960s, however it then dropped to it's lowest point of just 1.3 children per woman by 1995, shortly after the re-unification of Germany. In recent years, Germany's fertility rate has gradually been increasing again, and is expected to reach 1.6 in 2020, its highest rate in over forty years.

This horizontal bar chart displays fertility rate (births per woman) by countries using the aggregation average, weighted by population female in Europe. The data is about countries.

The mean number of children that would be born alive to a woman during her lifetime if she were to survive and pass through her childbearing years conforming to the fertility rates by age of a given year.

The main reasons for the negative consequences of demographic changes are: natural increase in the life span of the population, decline in fertility and emigration of unusual dimensions.

Dataset replaced by: http://data.europa.eu/euodp/data/dataset/Byj3Ffio44YXKJXqITfWA The mean number of children that would be born alive to a woman during her lifetime if she were to survive and pass through her childbearing years conforming to the fertility rates by age of a given year.

Dataset replaced by: http://data.europa.eu/euodp/data/dataset/Ivgbd6igWYYrtEYQOhr3A

This table contains national projections of immigrants population. Fertility of 1st generation immigrant mothers by the mother’s origin group.

Data available from: 2006 Frequency: discontinued as of 18 December 2008

Status of the figures All figures included in the table are forecast figures calculated.

Changes compared to the previous version 13 December 2006. The forecast has been adjusted on the basis of the most recent insights, the forecast period now runs from 2006 to 2050.

When are new figures coming? In December 2008, the new immigrant forecast came out.

Dataset replaced by: http://data.europa.eu/euodp/data/dataset/Ivgbd6igWYYrtEYQOhr3A

Mean number of children that a woman could have during her childbearing age, unter Berücksichtigung der aktuellen durchschnittlichen Anzahl lebend geborener Kinder in verschiedenen Altersgruppen.

The mean number of children that would be born alive to a woman during her lifetime if she were to survive and pass through her childbearing years conforming to the fertility rates by age of a given year.

Mean number of children that a woman could have during her childbearing age, taking into consideration the current average number of children born alive for different age groups.

This collection automatically captures metadata, the source of which is NACIONAL INSTITY FOR PUBLIC HEALTH and correspond to the source collection entitled “Total fertility rate by statistical regions, Slovenia, annually”.

Actual data are available in Px-Axis format (.px). With additional links, you can access the source portal page for viewing and selecting data, as well as the PX-Win program, which can be downloaded free of charge. Both allow you to select data for display, change the format of the printout, and store it in different formats, as well as view and print tables of unlimited size, as well as some basic statistical analyses and graphics.

Fertility of 1st generation immigrant mothers by origin group of the mother. Data available: from 2004 Frequency: Discontinued on 19-12-2006 Infoservice: http://www.cbs.nl/infoservice Copyright (c) Statistics Netherlands Reproduction is permitted, provided Statistics Netherlands is cited as the source.

The fertility rate of a country is the average number of children that women from that country would have throughout their reproductive years. In France in 1800, the average woman of childbearing age would have 4.4 children over the course of their lifetime. The beginning of the nineteenth century was a tumultuous time in France's history, involving France's revolutionary period, as well as the Napoleonic Empire. In the first decade of the 1800s, the fertility rate dropped by 0.4, before dropping more slowly, by another 0.5 between 1810 and 1850. The fertility growth rate fluctuated slightly in the late 1800s, before dropping drastically in the early twentieth century, falling from an average of 3 children per woman to less than 1.7 in 1920. France's fertility rate reached this point as a result of the First World War, and the influenza epidemic (known as the Spanish Flu) that followed. The interwar period saw a slight increase in fertility rate, before it fell again in the Second World War. Similarly to other major European countries after the war, France experienced a baby boom in the two decades following the war, before dropping again into the 1980s. The fertility rate reached it's lowest point in the post-war period, falling to 1.7 in 1995, before increasing in more recent years.

The fertility rate of a country is the average number of children that women from that country will have throughout their reproductive years. In the second half of the nineteenth century in Spain, the fertility rate fluctuated, but overall it had decreased from 5.1 children per woman in 1850 to 4.7 in 1905. From 1905 until 1935 the fertility decline followed a steady trajectory, falling from 4.7 to 3.5 births per woman during this time. Between 1935 and 1940, the Spanish Civil War caused the fertility rate to drop by 0.7 children per woman. The rate dropped again in the 1940s and 50s, before Spain experienced a baby boom, much like the rest of Western Europe, in the mid 1900s. Compared with the rest of Europe, Spain's baby boom was relatively small, although the population did not begin to decrease again until the late 1970s. Spain had one of the lowest fertility rates in the world at the end of the 1900s, and at the beginning of the twenty-first century, the fertility rate was at it's lowest point ever, reaching just 1.2 children per woman in 2000. This number has increased slightly in the past two decades, and is expected to be just over 1.3 in 2020.

In the mid-1800s, women in Ireland could expect to have over four children throughout the course of their reproductive years. More so than most European countries, the total fertility rate of Ireland would be influenced not only by the number of births, which would remain largely high compared to much of the continent, but would rather be influenced by emigration from the country. While the largest wave of Irish emigration (driven by the Great Famine) occurred before the years shown, the spikes in 1870, and particularly the spikes of the 1940s to early 1960s, can be attributed in part to significant declines in emigration among young adult females (rather than an increase in the number of births).

Another significant impact on Ireland's fertility rate in the 20th century was the influence of the Catholic Church in Irish society, education and healthcare. The church controlled the majority of primary and secondary education establishments, as well as hospitals; their influence on government meant that contraception and divorce remained illegal until 1985 and 1996 respectively, while the prohibition of abortion was not repealed until 2018. The promotion of traditional Catholic family values saw Ireland's fertility rate peak at over four children per woman in the early 1960s (double replacement level), however the gradual liberalization of Irish society and the decline of the church's influence, saw Ireland's fertility rate drop below two births per woman by the 1990s. (below replacement level). While fertility has remained below replacement level in the past three decades, the country still remains above the European average, with a total fertility rate of more than 1.8 children per woman in 2020, compared to the continental average of 1.6 children.

This table contains national forecast figures for the immigrant population. Fertility of 1st generation immigrant mothers by origin group of the mother. Data available from: 2008 Frequency: discontinued on 17 December 2010 Status of the figures All figures included in the table are calculated forecast figures. Changes compared to the previous version December 18, 2008. The forecast has been adjusted based on the most recent insights, the forecast period now runs from 2008 to 2050. When will new figures be released? In December 2010, the new immigrant forecast will be published.