is the most fertile country in the European Union

In the maternity ward of hospital, January 18, 2024. PASCAL POCHARD-CASABIANCA/AFP

While reaches a historic low in terms of fertility in 2024, does it still retain a special place in European demography? With a total fertility index (TFR) which now stands at 1.62 children per woman, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee) published Tuesday January 14, France maintains its first place among the European countries with the highest fertility, the European Union average standing at 1.4 children per woman in 2022. It was only overtaken in 2023 by the Bulgaria.

The total fertility index – also called “synthetic” depending on the publications – is of particular importance for understanding demographic dynamics. Because the number of women of childbearing age has fluctuated little in recent years, it is the drop in fertility which explains the decrease in births in France (2.2% less than in 2023). This ICF is a theoretical construction, since it is the sum of the average number of children per woman at each age of reproductive life, that is to say between 15 years and 50 years, during a given year . Concretely, this means that if young girls aged 15 in 2024 in France adopted the same fertile behaviors during their lives as those of the women observed that year, they would have on average 1.62 children each.

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