Danish women are having fewer children than 15 years ago, according to Eurostat’s figures from 2014.
Denmark averages 1.69 children per woman, which is a decrease compared with 2001 when the figure was 1.74.
With 2.01 children per woman, France has the highest fertility rate among the EU states.
The Gallic country is followed by Ireland (1.94), Sweden (1.88) and the UK (1.81)
READ MORE: Fertility rate bouncing back after financial crisis
Population shrinking
According to demographers, women in industrialised countries need to average at least 2.1 children for the populations to replenish themselves.
Fertility rates are at their lowest in Portugal (1.23), Greece (1.30), Cyprus (1.31), while Spain and Poland are both averaging 1.32 children per woman.
Gilles Pison, a researcher at the National Institute for Demographic Studies in Paris, says the good results for France and Europe’s northwestern countries are down to more generous family and social policies.
In 2014, over 5.1 million children were born in the EU, where the average age for first-time mothers was 28 years.
