Europe’s Fertility Challenge: Building an Integrated Policy Response

Low fertility and population aging have become two of Europe’s most significant long-term challenges. Europe’s demographic transformation will eventually shape future employment and welfare systems. Sustained low fertility means that fewer young people will enter the workforce, while rising life expectancy increases the number of people eligible for pensions. Together, these trends are shifting the balance of the population pyramid, with migration further influencing population change. The policy challenge is to help people achieve their family plans while also adapting employment, pensions and care systems to an aging society. According to Eurostat, there were 3.55 million live births in the EU in 2024, 3.3% fewer than in 2023, with the total fertility rate falling from 1.38 to 1.34 births per woman over the same period, reaching a record low.

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