Malta with lowest fertility rate across the EU

During 2017, the Maltese population registered the lowest fertility rate across the European Union, according to the latest figures published by Eurostat.

Malta had a total fertility rate of 1.26, followed by Spain with 1.31 and Cyprus and Italy, both on 1.32. The average across the EU’s 28 member states was 1.59, while the highest rate was registered in France (1.90).

The total fertility rate is defined as the average number of children who would be born to a woman during her lifetime, if she were to spend her childbearing years conforming to the age-specific fertility rates, which have been measured in a given year.

As a general rule, for a population to remain stable, it is assumed that a fertility rate in the region of 2.1 is needed.

According to the data, the average of at which Maltese women give birth is 30.5, while the average age of first childbirth is 29.

On average in the EU, women who gave birth to their first child in 2017 were 29.1 years old. Over five years, the mean age has gradually increased from 28.7 in 2013 to 29.1 in 2017.

Italy had the highest age of first childbirth, at 31.1.

In 2017, there were 5.07 million babies born in the European Union. The highest total fertility rate since the start of comparable time series was in 2010 when it reached 1.62.