LUXEMBOURG, Mon Apr 11, 2011 (LifeSiteNews.com) - A study
produced by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European
Union, reveals that between 2003 and 2009 the average fertility
rate of the twenty-seven countries making up the EU rose from
1.47 children per woman, to a level of 1.60. However, the
fertility rate remains well below the replacement level of 2.1,
which is the average number of children per woman needed to keep
the population size constant in the absence of migration flows.
The “Third Demography Report,” published on April 1, 2011, found
that about 5 million children are born each year in the EU, and
about 2 million people immigrate from outside countries. While
births currently outnumber deaths by a small amount, the rapid
aging of the population will require a larger inflow of
immigrants to prevent the size of the population from shrinking
in the future. The report notes that in 4 countries - Bulgaria,
Lithuania, Latvia and Romania - the population is already
decreasing due to a combination