Fertility was below replacement level everywhere
In 2024, all countries in the dataset had fertility rates below the commonly used replacement-level benchmark of about 2.1 children per woman.
Fertility rate across Europe
Low fertility and Europe’s long-term demographic future
This page tracks the total fertility rate across European countries from 2000 to 2024. The indicator estimates the average number of children a woman would have over her lifetime if current age-specific fertility rates remained unchanged.
The time series highlights a central demographic challenge for Europe. Across countries with data available for both 2000 and 2024, the average fertility rate decreased from 1.51 to 1.35 children per woman. In 2024, all countries in the dataset were below the commonly used replacement-level benchmark of about 2.1.
Explore the data
Key insights
The average fertility rate declined over the long term
Across comparable countries, the average fertility rate fell from 1.51 to 1.35 children per woman between 2000 and 2024.
Central and South-Eastern Europe recorded some of the largest increases
Bulgaria, Slovenia and Czechia recorded the strongest long-term increases in fertility rates.
Key comparisons
Selected highlights from the fertility rate dataset, 2000–2024.
Extended analysis
1) Fertility rates declined across Europe overall
Across countries with data available in both 2000 and 2024, the average total fertility rate decreased from 1.51 to 1.35 children per woman. This decline of 0.16 shows that low fertility remained a broad structural feature of Europe’s demographic development.
The total fertility rate does not count the actual number of children women have over their lifetime. Instead, it summarizes current age-specific fertility patterns into a single indicator, making it useful for comparing countries and years.
2) The highest fertility rates in 2024 remained well below replacement level
In 2024, the highest fertility rates in the dataset were recorded in Bulgaria (1.72), France (1.61), Iceland (1.56), Slovenia (1.52) and Denmark (1.47).
Even the highest values were below the commonly used replacement-level benchmark of around 2.1 children per woman, underscoring the scale of Europe’s long-term fertility challenge.
3) The lowest fertility rates were concentrated in Southern, Baltic and small island economies
The lowest fertility rates in 2024 were recorded in Malta (1.01), Spain (1.10), Lithuania (1.11), Poland (1.14) and Estonia (1.18).
These values point to very low current fertility patterns. They do not by themselves explain the causes, which can include housing, labour-market conditions, family policy, migration, economic uncertainty and changes in family formation.
4) Some countries recorded increases from very low starting points
Between 2000 and 2024, the largest increases in fertility rates were recorded in Bulgaria (+0.46), Slovenia (+0.26), Czechia (+0.21), Slovakia (+0.16) and Hungary (+0.09).
These increases show that fertility trajectories are not uniform. Several Central and South-Eastern European countries moved upward from very low fertility rates recorded around the start of the period.
5) Several countries with higher fertility in 2000 recorded large declines
The largest declines between 2000 and 2024 were recorded in Malta (-0.67), Iceland (-0.52), Luxembourg (-0.51), Finland (-0.48) and Ireland (-0.42).
These shifts show that fertility decline has not been limited to countries that already had very low fertility at the start of the period. Some countries that entered the 2000s with comparatively higher fertility also moved downward over time.
How to read this indicator
The total fertility rate estimates the average number of children a woman would have over her lifetime if current age-specific fertility rates remained unchanged. It is a synthetic indicator based on births in a given year, not a direct count of completed family size. A value of 1.5 means that current fertility patterns correspond to about 1.5 children per woman.
Data for Croatia are available from 2001 onwards. Comparisons covering the full 2000–2024 period therefore include only countries with data available for both the first and last year of the period. Croatia is excluded from rankings and averages covering the full period.