Rock bottom birth rates: What are Europe's least fertile nations?
For the year 2024, many European countries are reporting their lowest birth rates in several decades, if not on record.
While experts say 2.1 children per woman are needed to keep the population's size stable, several countries present numbers consistently below 1.5.
Germany: 'Migration sole cause of population growth'
Germany's fertility level dropped to 1.35, the lowest level since 1994 (1.24), which came off the back of a recession period.
The country's Federal Statistical Office (Statistisches Bundesamt) clearly states that "net immigration was the sole cause of population growth".
Yet, despite the numbers added by migrants, the population grew only by 0.1% or 121,000 people last year. In reality, "more people died than were born", says the institute.
Data also shows a huge divide between German states. While the population grew in wealthier states, like Bavaria or Hamburg, the sharpest drops were reported in the poorer Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt.
In neighbouring Austria, the situation was even more concerning in 2024, with the country recording the lowest birth rate on record: 1.32 or 77,238 new children, a 0.5% drop, according to Statistik Austria.
Italy: Racing towards becoming a human desert
With 166,000 new arrivals, migration slowed Italy's population decline, too, but not enough to prevent a decrease.
The country has now fallen steadily to under 60 million people, following years of decline.
The birth rate in 2024 hit a new record low (1.18), says ISTAT: For every 1,000 people, only six babies were born, while 11 died.
To make matters worse, the number of Italians who left the country (156,000) was three times higher than those who returned (53,000).
The largest population drops were reported in the poorer inland areas of the south.
France: 'Lowest birth rates since the end of World War One'
In France, which is traditionally one of Europe's most fertile nations, numbers are also dropping fast.
Its fertility rate in 2024, at 1.62, was the lowest since the end of World War I, said the INSEE.
In the past 15 years, the country's fertility fell by a fifth, just about enough to keep a tiny, positive birth/death balance (+17,000), the lowest since the end of World War II.
Life expectancy provided the only good news. It has now reached 85.6 years for women and 80 for men, a historic record.
England: Elderly childbearing fences off demographic decline
England and Wales are one of the few exceptions in Europe.
That's thanks to a surprising rise in babies born to fathers over 60 years old (+14%), which helped trigger the first increase in the number of births in England and Wales since 2021 (+0.6%).
On the contrary, births to young mothers and fathers fell, says the INS.
The proportion of children born to foreign parents was significantly high: 40% in England and nearly 20% in Wales, marking a steep 34% increase between 2023 and 2024.
Spain is another exception. According to INE's provisional data, 2024's birth rates could rise by 0.4%, thanks to an estimated 322,034 new babies.
As in other countries, Spain's declining fertility has been accompanied by a rising age among mothers. In the past ten years, the number of mothers aged 40 or above grew by 8.5%.
Nordics: Finland reports lowest rate since 1776 (yes, 1776)
Finland's fertility rate dropped to 1.25 in 2024, says Statistics Finland. That's the worst rate since data collection began, in the late 19th century, when the territory was still part of Sweden, which is also facing demographic problems.
The rate reported by Stockholm for last year is 1.43, slightly above most countries and yet the country's lowest fertility on record, says SCB.
The overall number of new children was 98,500, the deepest point in 23 years, as the population decreased in 169 of the country's 290 municipalities.
Hungary and Poland: Failure of pro-family policies?
Despite recent policies aimed at boosting natality, Hungary and Poland are also part of the crowded low-fertility club for 2024.
The statistics published by Warsaw are particularly brutal, with a 1.1 birth rate, meaning the number of new children almost halved compared to 1990 (1.9).
Women are also, on average, becoming mothers at 29, much later than 35 years ago, when the average age was just under 23.
Hungary makes no exception with 77,500 new babies last year, the lowest amount ever, on top of a 1.38 birth rate, never as low since 2014, according to Hungary's KLS.
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Euronews
18-07-2025
- Euronews
Rock bottom birth rates: What are Europe's least fertile nations?
The latest data on fertility across the continent is not far from apocalyptic. For the year 2024, many European countries are reporting their lowest birth rates in several decades, if not on record. While experts say 2.1 children per woman are needed to keep the population's size stable, several countries present numbers consistently below 1.5. Germany: 'Migration sole cause of population growth' Germany's fertility level dropped to 1.35, the lowest level since 1994 (1.24), which came off the back of a recession period. The country's Federal Statistical Office (Statistisches Bundesamt) clearly states that "net immigration was the sole cause of population growth". Yet, despite the numbers added by migrants, the population grew only by 0.1% or 121,000 people last year. In reality, "more people died than were born", says the institute. Data also shows a huge divide between German states. While the population grew in wealthier states, like Bavaria or Hamburg, the sharpest drops were reported in the poorer Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt. In neighbouring Austria, the situation was even more concerning in 2024, with the country recording the lowest birth rate on record: 1.32 or 77,238 new children, a 0.5% drop, according to Statistik Austria. Italy: Racing towards becoming a human desert With 166,000 new arrivals, migration slowed Italy's population decline, too, but not enough to prevent a decrease. The country has now fallen steadily to under 60 million people, following years of decline. The birth rate in 2024 hit a new record low (1.18), says ISTAT: For every 1,000 people, only six babies were born, while 11 died. To make matters worse, the number of Italians who left the country (156,000) was three times higher than those who returned (53,000). The largest population drops were reported in the poorer inland areas of the south. France: 'Lowest birth rates since the end of World War One' In France, which is traditionally one of Europe's most fertile nations, numbers are also dropping fast. Its fertility rate in 2024, at 1.62, was the lowest since the end of World War I, said the INSEE. In the past 15 years, the country's fertility fell by a fifth, just about enough to keep a tiny, positive birth/death balance (+17,000), the lowest since the end of World War II. Life expectancy provided the only good news. It has now reached 85.6 years for women and 80 for men, a historic record. England: Elderly childbearing fences off demographic decline England and Wales are one of the few exceptions in Europe. That's thanks to a surprising rise in babies born to fathers over 60 years old (+14%), which helped trigger the first increase in the number of births in England and Wales since 2021 (+0.6%). On the contrary, births to young mothers and fathers fell, says the INS. The proportion of children born to foreign parents was significantly high: 40% in England and nearly 20% in Wales, marking a steep 34% increase between 2023 and 2024. Spain is another exception. According to INE's provisional data, 2024's birth rates could rise by 0.4%, thanks to an estimated 322,034 new babies. As in other countries, Spain's declining fertility has been accompanied by a rising age among mothers. In the past ten years, the number of mothers aged 40 or above grew by 8.5%. Nordics: Finland reports lowest rate since 1776 (yes, 1776) Finland's fertility rate dropped to 1.25 in 2024, says Statistics Finland. That's the worst rate since data collection began, in the late 19th century, when the territory was still part of Sweden, which is also facing demographic problems. The rate reported by Stockholm for last year is 1.43, slightly above most countries and yet the country's lowest fertility on record, says SCB. The overall number of new children was 98,500, the deepest point in 23 years, as the population decreased in 169 of the country's 290 municipalities. Hungary and Poland: Failure of pro-family policies? Despite recent policies aimed at boosting natality, Hungary and Poland are also part of the crowded low-fertility club for 2024. The statistics published by Warsaw are particularly brutal, with a 1.1 birth rate, meaning the number of new children almost halved compared to 1990 (1.9). Women are also, on average, becoming mothers at 29, much later than 35 years ago, when the average age was just under 23. Hungary makes no exception with 77,500 new babies last year, the lowest amount ever, on top of a 1.38 birth rate, never as low since 2014, according to Hungary's KLS.
Euronews
11-07-2025
- Euronews
Landmark ruling says Spanish pig farm pollution breaches human rights
A Spanish court has made a crucial ruling today regarding a landmark case on livestock megapollution in the region of Galicia. In a legal first, Spanish citizens launched court action earlier this year against national and regional authorities over intensive pig-rearing. The residents say the mismanagement of pollution from decades of industrial pig farming has made life in their community 'unfeasible' - and is putting their health at risk. The High Court of Galicia has now confirmed that Spanish national and regional authorities have breached residents' human rights according to both the Spanish Constitution and European human rights law. The court ruled that authorities have failed to manage record levels of pollution from hundreds of pig and poultry farms in the A Limia region. The Xunta de Galicia and the Miño-Sil River Basin Authority have been ordered to immediately adopt all necessary measures to guarantee the end of the odours and environmental degradation of the As Conchas reservoir and its surroundings, restoring the full enjoyment of the right to life. Pig farms have turned the town into a 'dungheap' The ruling is a critical step in recognising that the devastating impacts of industrial agriculture are not just policy issues - they are human rights issues. Years of unexplained health complaints, severe algal blooms and acute odour pollution in the A Limia region of Galicia left businesses floundering and locals fearful to leave their homes. The culprits are the hundreds of intensive pig and poultry farms operating thanks to rubber-stamp approvals from the local authority. The pollution from these livestock operations has made residents too afraid to drink water from their local wells or open their windows for fear of the stench. As Friends of the Earth representative Blanca Ruibal, who has been supporting the case, succinctly puts it, '[the town] has become a dungheap.' Court finds A Limia residents are 'undeniably experiencing ongoing moral harm' Seven affected residents, the Neighbourhood Association of As Conchas and the Confederation of Users and Consumers (CECU) were supported by ClientEarth and Friends of the Earth to take the case to court, bringing a claim against multiple local authorities, including the Xunta de Galicia and water authorities. During the court hearings, scientists corroborated their suspicions about the extent of the pollution, presenting evidence of antibiotic-resistant superbugs - considered one of the top ten threats to humanity. They also found serious nitrate contamination in the reservoir water (at times reaching levels of up to 1,000x higher than typical levels). Nitrates are a well-known risk factor for numerous cancers, including thyroid, breast and ovarian cancer. In the landmark ruling, published today, the court said: 'Human rights and environmental protection are interdependent. A sustainable environment is necessary for the full enjoyment of human rights, including the rights to life, to an adequate standard of living, to drinking water and sanitation, to housing, to participation in cultural life and to development. 'Residents of the village of As Conchas who live in the affected area are found to be in a serious situation concerning their enjoyment of daily life. This includes the presence of foul odours, the risk of aerosol exposure, contamination of private wells to levels that render them unusable, loss of property value, and a severe potential health risk… the court finds that they are undeniably experiencing ongoing moral harm.' 'This historic ruling makes us stronger' This case ruling on the impact of agriculture-compromised water on people's fundamental rights is the first of its kind, drawing on both the Spanish constitution and European law to demonstrate that public authorities did not meet their legal obligation to protect people – including from harmful pollution. 'After so many years of tireless struggle, of being abandoned and ignored by those who were supposed to protect us, today we have finally been heard,' Pablo Álvarez Veloso, president of the local neighbourhood association and a claimant in the case, said. 'The High Court of Justice of Galicia has recognised what we have been denouncing for so long: our rights have been violated due to the inaction of the authorities against the pollution from industrial livestock farming.' He added that the historic ruling 'makes us stronger', and the community won't stop until the reservoir 'becomes a place of life once again - a place where we can walk, swim, and drink water without fear'. Lawyers say the case now paves the way for suffering communities to bring replica suits across Europe, to demand justice and protection from their authorities.
Euronews
05-07-2025
- Euronews
Could this chore-tracking app help balance inequality at home?
Ever argued about who does the most chores at home with your partner? A Swedish app, called Accord, says it can help couples and families share and track their household chores such as laundry, cleaning or grocery shopping. 'Accord is for couples and families who simply want less stress and more harmony in their day-to-day lives,' Victor Fredrikson, a co-founder of Accord, told Euronews Next. The app functions as a checklist for households to share. A couple or family creates a group, adds tasks to shared lists, and marks them off as they are completed. The app then tracks who has done what and displays the division of labour on a progress page. This allows families to see how household work is distributed over time, according to the developers of the app. The app is available in multiple languages including Spanish, French, German, English and Swedish. The team behind the app says it's determined to tackle inequalities in household chores. 'It's a challenge to find family harmony. And one of the biggest factors preventing this from happening is the inequalities between men and women,' Fredrikson said. 'This causes a lot of frustration and tension in relationships. So what Accord does is it brings families closer to organise chores and activities together and to work on this, minimising the stresses and arguments that so often come with it,' he added. In Europe, 79 per cent of women do cooking and housework every day, compared to just 34 per cent of men, according to data from the European Commission. 'And there's a really interesting sociology study showing that when families divide chores more fairly and each family member's stress levels reduce drastically and communication improves. And this eventually leads to happier relationships and better relationships,' Fredrikson said. Gender gap reduced by 60 per cent among users The team started building the app in 2023. In just ten months since its launch in September 2024, it has gained more than 25,000 users in Europe. The app was developed by three male students at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden. 'Two years ago, I was still living at home with my parents and my dad was always nagging at me to clean my room. One day, he asked, 'Why don't you just programme an app so I don't have to nag at you anymore?'' Frederikson said. 'I took it maybe a bit more seriously than he thought I would take it. The next day, in school, I pitched the idea to my then-classmate,' he added. 'We dived deeper into the core problem within households. Why is this nagging always coming up? Where are the arguments coming from?'. Fredrikson and his co-founders quickly realised that the lack of structure to organise households, compared to the workplace, was an underlying issue causing common arguments about chores. He says the gender gap in household chores has shrunk significantly among the app's users – from women doing about twice as much as men, to a gap that's been reduced by 60 per cent, which Fredrikson calls a 'huge improvement'. The developers say users report that the app is an integral part of their lives and has improved their day-to-day. Lina-Marie Lundqvist works part-time as a special educator at a preschool and uses Accord. She said the app has made a 'big difference' for her household with her partner, kids and pets. 'Now there are tasks that are distributed clearly, and everyone has taken responsibility for taking this,' Lundqvist says. 'I don't have to be the project manager and be the initiator all the time. 'Can you empty the dishwasher?', 'Can you do this?', 'Can you do that?'. So now the kids and my partner can do things without me having to be the initiator,' she added. More than a strict 50-50 The Accord team said fairness is more about understanding and communication than strict equality. 'I think one thing maybe that scares people off from the app a little bit is thinking that we want absolute fairness and 50-50 in terms of the amount of tasks or the exact time that you spend on different things,' Fredrikson said. 'But it's way more about this conversation to be had. Seeing, appreciating what the other person is actually doing and getting that visualisation very clear on who's doing what, how much, and then ultimately starting that conversation,' he added. Fredrikson also noted that fairness in the home isn't only about how much time a task takes, but how it feels to the person doing it. When designing the app's summary view, his team began thinking not just about time management, but about energy management. 'I spoke to a woman [ app user] who talked a little bit more about energy management. So, for example, she hated doing the dishes, but had no problem cooking, even though that took longer than doing the dishes. So for her, the fairness in distribution was less about splitting chores down the middle by minutes and more about balancing the tasks that drained her compared to energising her,' Fredrikson said. 'And that's what we've been doing with adding on effort points, where you can weigh the tasks depending on how difficult they are and how much you feel that they're taking from you,' he added. In Lundqvist's household, she says, she still does most of the chores since she works part-time while her partner works full-time. 'But you look at these circles [in the dashboard] where you can see in the app how many tasks have been done, and then you can really see with the colour scale that we are being helped, that there is a 'team spirit' in a different way,' she said. She also believes it's not about splitting everything exactly down the middle, but about feeling seen and supported. 'When I got home from work one day and the laundry was folded and the dishwasher was unpicked without me even having to remind. It was such a hallelujah moment,' Lundqvist added. For more on this story, watch the video in the media player above.
