The number of deaths continues to exceed the number of births across the EU, in a trend that has now been occurring for almost ten years, according to the latest Eurostat figures. Deaths now outnumber births by around a million.

Ireland still has the youngest population in Europe relatively speaking, but it is also ageing rapidly.

In 2023, the birth rate for all EU countries stood at 8.2 per 1,000 while the death rate was 10.8 per thousand, resulting in a natural population decrease of 2.6 per 1000.

The population decrease was a slight improvement on the previous year’s figures which had the birth rate at 8.7, the death rate 11.5, and a natural population decrease of 2.9 per 1000. But that was during the pandemic.

However, 2023’s crude birth rate marked a new low, dropping from 10.1 live births per 1000 persons in 2003 to 8.2 in 2023.

In March, Eurostat reported a record drop in children being born in the EU in 2023.

3.67 million babies were born in the EU that year, a 5.4% decrease from the 3.88 million in 2022. This was the largest annual decline recorded since 1961.

The total fertility rate in 2023 was 1.38 live births per woman in the EU, down from 1.46 in 2022.