(The Local) France and Sweden have the highest fertility rates in Europe but births across the EU are less than needed to replenish the population naturally, the bloc’s statistics agency said on Wednesday.
Spain and Italy had the lowest birth rates, with countries in southern Europe, which has suffered most from economic problems in recent years, generally lower than those in the north.
Across the 28-nation European Union, 5.148 million babies were born in 2016, the last year for which figures were available, compared to 5.103 million in 2015, Eurostat announced.
Overall the total fertility rate was 1.60 births per woman, well short of the 2.1 live births per woman that Eurostat says is “considered to be the replacement level in developed countries”.
