Record drop in children being born in the EU in 2023

In 2023, 3.67 million babies were born in the EU, a 5.4% decrease from the 3.88 million in 2022. This is the largest annual decline recorded since 1961.

The total fertility rate in 2023 was 1.38 live births per woman in the EU, down from 1.46 in 2022. 

This information comes from data on fertility published by Eurostat today. The article presents a handful of findings from the more detailed Statistics Explained article on fertility statistics.

Source dataset: demo_find

In 2023, Bulgaria had the highest total fertility rate in the EU (1.81 live births per woman), followed by France (1.66) and Hungary (1.55). 

By contrast, the lowest fertility rates were seen in Malta (1.06 births per woman), Spain (1.12) and Lithuania (1.18). 

Source dataset: demo_find