Historic low: Birth rate in the EU lower than in the USA for the first time

For the first time since records began, fewer children were born in the European Union than in the United States. According to data from the European statistics office Eurostat, around 3.56 million babies were born in the EU in 2024, compared to around 3.62 million in the United States. The fact that Europe, with its approximately 120 million more inhabitants, is falling behind the United States for the first time is considered a turning point by demographers.

These figures continue a trend that has been accelerating for years. In Germany, fewer children were born in 2024 than in more than a decade, with the birth rate at 1.35 . Austria also recorded a record low: in 2024, the average number of children per woman was 1.3, the lowest figure since World War II. Developments are similarly dramatic in countries such as Italy (1.19), Spain (1.16), Greece (1.32), and Estonia (1.18), where birth rates have also been declining continuously for years.

Even countries like France (1.62) and Sweden (1.84), long praised as models of family-friendly policies, are experiencing declines. For a society to remain stable without migration, a birth rate of 2.1 children per woman would be needed. Starting at a rate of 1.0, a society halves its birth rate per generation.