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Confirmed: Malta Has The Lowest Fertility Rate In The European Union

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With the controversial amendments to the IVF bill and the potential introduction of surrogacy still a key focus of popular debate, Malta has been found to have the lowest fertility rate in the entire European Union, recording just 1.26 births per woman.

Other low rates were recored in Spain (1.31), Italy (1.32), Cyprus (1.32), Greece (1.35), and Portugal (1.38) potentially indicating a wider pan-Mediterranean problem.

The figures, which were provided by Eurostat and is based on the year 2017, also found that the highest fertility rates recorded are France (1.90) followed by Sweden (1.78), Ireland (1.77), Denmark (1.75) and the United Kingdom (1.74).

In a purely Maltese context, the average age of first-time birth mothers is 29. The EU average for first-time mothers is also 29 years old, with the mean gradually increasing from 28.7 in 2013.

48.8% of all first-time mothers in Malta fall within the 20-29 age bracket and 44.2% in the 30-39 group. Around 5.3% of all first-time mothers are under 20, while 1.6% are aged 40 or older.

Out of the 4,319 births in Malta for 2017, 52% were the first child, 33% were the second, 10% the third, and 4% having a fourth or more.

In total 5.075 million babies were born in the EU, compared with 5.148 million in 2016.

READ NEXT: Embryo Freezing And Gamete Donation: Malta’s Laws On Assisted Reproduction Have Just Changed, And Here’s What That Means

Julian is the former editor of Lovin Malta and has a particular interest in politics, the environment, social issues, and human interest stories.

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