The EU's average fertility rate fell to 1.34 children per woman in 2024, the lowest on record, according to compiled demographic data. In 2025, the bloc recorded 3.46 million births against 4.81 million deaths, a natural loss of 1.35 million people, with population growth coming entirely from migration. Nearly every EU member state reported declining fertility, with Germany, France, Italy, and Poland posting historic lows.
The EU's fertility rate fell to 1.34 children per woman in 2024, the lowest since records began, according to compiled demographic data. In 2025, the bloc recorded 3.46 million births against 4.81 million deaths, a natural loss of 1.35 million people, with population growth relying entirely on migration. Twenty-one of the 27 EU member states recorded more deaths than births.
The decline is broad-based: Germany recorded 654,241 births in 2025, the lowest postwar total, with fertility falling to 1.32. France's fertility fell to 1.56, the lowest since World War I, with deaths exceeding births for the first time since World War II. Italy recorded just 355,000 births against 652,000 deaths, with fertility dropping to 1.14. Poland's 238,000 births were the lowest postwar total, with deaths exceeding births by 168,000. Spain, Malta, and Lithuania recorded the EU's lowest fertility rates at 1.10, 1.01, and 1.11, respectively.
The replacement level required to sustain a population is roughly 2.1 children per woman. The data underscores a demographic crisis that has become generalized across the continent, no longer limited to a few countries.
The Zioneer has previously reported on Germany's fertility decline to 1.32 in 2025 and on Israel's contrasting demographic growth, which is projected to surpass 11 million by 2029.
- DevelopingGermany's fertility rate drops to new low of 1.32 children per woman in 2025
- DevelopingIsrael forecast to surpass 11 million population by 2029, overtaking Greece and Portugal
- DevelopingGalilee is losing its Jewish population — 40% drop in children per age cohort across 80 communities
- DevelopingJews in Israel projected to exceed 8 million in 2027, cementing Israel as global Jewish hub
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