Data / Rankings / Natural change rate / EU countries

EU countries by natural change rate

Ireland had the highest natural change rate of 27 EU countries in 2016, at 7 per 1,000 inhabitants. Bulgaria had the lowest, at -6.2 per 1,000 inhabitants. The median was 0 per 1,000 inhabitants and the figure for the European Union (27) was -0.4 per 1,000 inhabitants. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest7Ireland
Lowest-6.2Bulgaria
Median027 EU countries
European Union (27)-0.4History

Map of EU countries, 2016

Austria: 0.8 per 1,000 inhabitantsBelgium: 1.2 per 1,000 inhabitantsBulgaria: -6.2 per 1,000 inhabitantsCyprus: 4.6 per 1,000 inhabitantsCzechia: 0.5 per 1,000 inhabitantsGermany: -1.4 per 1,000 inhabitantsDenmark: 1.5 per 1,000 inhabitantsEstonia: -1 per 1,000 inhabitantsSpain: 0 per 1,000 inhabitantsFinland: -0.2 per 1,000 inhabitantsFrance: 2.9 per 1,000 inhabitantsGreece: -2.4 per 1,000 inhabitantsCroatia: -3.4 per 1,000 inhabitantsHungary: -3.3 per 1,000 inhabitantsIreland: 7 per 1,000 inhabitantsItaly: -2.4 per 1,000 inhabitantsLithuania: -4 per 1,000 inhabitantsLuxembourg: 3.6 per 1,000 inhabitantsLatvia: -3.4 per 1,000 inhabitantsMalta: 2.5 per 1,000 inhabitantsNetherlands: 1.4 per 1,000 inhabitantsPoland: -0.2 per 1,000 inhabitantsPortugal: -2.3 per 1,000 inhabitantsRomania: -2.7 per 1,000 inhabitantsSweden: 2.7 per 1,000 inhabitantsSlovenia: 0.3 per 1,000 inhabitantsSlovakia: 1 per 1,000 inhabitants
  • Under -3.3
  • -3.3 to -2.3
  • -2.3 to 0
  • 0 to 1.1
  • 1.1 to 2.6
  • 2.6 and over
per 1,000 inhabitants, 2016. Red areas are below zero and blue areas above it. Source: Eurostat, Population change, crude rate of natural change of population (demo_gind). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2016

Ireland: 7 per 1,000 inhabitantsIreland7Cyprus: 4.6 per 1,000 inhabitantsCyprus4.6Luxembourg: 3.6 per 1,000 inhabitantsLuxembourg3.6France: 2.9 per 1,000 inhabitantsFrance2.9Sweden: 2.7 per 1,000 inhabitantsSweden2.7Malta: 2.5 per 1,000 inhabitantsMalta2.5Denmark: 1.5 per 1,000 inhabitantsDenmark1.5Netherlands: 1.4 per 1,000 inhabitantsNetherlands1.4Belgium: 1.2 per 1,000 inhabitantsBelgium1.2Slovakia: 1 per 1,000 inhabitantsSlovakia1Austria: 0.8 per 1,000 inhabitantsAustria0.8Czechia: 0.5 per 1,000 inhabitantsCzechia0.5Slovenia: 0.3 per 1,000 inhabitantsSlovenia0.3Spain: 0 per 1,000 inhabitantsSpain0Finland: -0.2 per 1,000 inhabitantsFinland-0.2Poland: -0.2 per 1,000 inhabitantsPoland-0.2Estonia: -1 per 1,000 inhabitantsEstonia-1Germany: -1.4 per 1,000 inhabitantsGermany-1.4Portugal: -2.3 per 1,000 inhabitantsPortugal-2.3Greece: -2.4 per 1,000 inhabitantsGreece-2.4Italy: -2.4 per 1,000 inhabitantsItaly-2.4Romania: -2.7 per 1,000 inhabitantsRomania-2.7Hungary: -3.3 per 1,000 inhabitantsHungary-3.3Croatia: -3.4 per 1,000 inhabitantsCroatia-3.4Latvia: -3.4 per 1,000 inhabitantsLatvia-3.4Lithuania: -4 per 1,000 inhabitantsLithuania-4Bulgaria: -6.2 per 1,000 inhabitantsBulgaria-6.2Ireland: 7 per 1,000 inhabitantsIreland7Cyprus: 4.6 per 1,000 inhabitantsCyprus4.6Luxembourg: 3.6 per 1,000 inhabitantsLuxembourg3.6France: 2.9 per 1,000 inhabitantsFrance2.9Sweden: 2.7 per 1,000 inhabitantsSweden2.7Malta: 2.5 per 1,000 inhabitantsMalta2.5Denmark: 1.5 per 1,000 inhabitantsDenmark1.5Netherlands: 1.4 per 1,000 inhabitantsNetherlands1.4Belgium: 1.2 per 1,000 inhabitantsBelgium1.2Slovakia: 1 per 1,000 inhabitantsSlovakia1Austria: 0.8 per 1,000 inhabitantsAustria0.8Czechia: 0.5 per 1,000 inhabitantsCzechia0.5Slovenia: 0.3 per 1,000 inhabitantsSlovenia0.3Spain: 0 per 1,000 inhabitantsSpain0Finland: -0.2 per 1,000 inhabitantsFinland-0.2Poland: -0.2 per 1,000 inhabitantsPoland-0.2Estonia: -1 per 1,000 inhabitantsEstonia-1Germany: -1.4 per 1,000 inhabitantsGermany-1.4Portugal: -2.3 per 1,000 inhabitantsPortugal-2.3Greece: -2.4 per 1,000 inhabitantsGreece-2.4Italy: -2.4 per 1,000 inhabitantsItaly-2.4Romania: -2.7 per 1,000 inhabitantsRomania-2.7Hungary: -3.3 per 1,000 inhabitantsHungary-3.3Croatia: -3.4 per 1,000 inhabitantsCroatia-3.4Latvia: -3.4 per 1,000 inhabitantsLatvia-3.4Lithuania: -4 per 1,000 inhabitantsLithuania-4Bulgaria: -6.2 per 1,000 inhabitantsBulgaria-6.2
per 1,000 inhabitants. Source: Eurostat, Population change, crude rate of natural change of population (demo_gind). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2016
per 1,000 inhabitants		Change on 2015
1Ireland7-0.5 pts
2Cyprus4.6+0.8 pts
3Luxembourg3.6-0.1 pts
4France2.9-0.2 pts
5Sweden2.7+0.3 pts
6Malta2.5+0.5 pts
7Denmark1.5+0.5 pts
8Netherlands1.40 pts
9Belgium1.2+0.2 pts
10Slovakia1+0.7 pts
11Austria0.8+0.6 pts
12Czechia0.5+0.5 pts
13Slovenia0.3-0.1 pts
14Spain00 pts
15Finland-0.2-0.7 pts
15Poland Estimated-0.2+0.5 pts
17Estonia-10 pts
18Germany-1.4+0.9 pts
19Portugal-2.3-0.1 pts
20Greece-2.4+0.3 pts
20Italy-2.4+0.3 pts
22Romania-2.7+0.4 pts
23Hungary-3.3+0.7 pts
24Croatia-3.4+0.6 pts
24Latvia-3.4-0.1 pts
26Lithuania-40 pts
27Bulgaria-6.2+0.1 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

Live births minus deaths during the year per 1,000 average residents (Eurostat crude rate of natural change).

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Population change, crude rate of natural change of population (demo_gind). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_gind/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Eurostat, European Commission. (2026). Population change, crude rate of natural change of population (demo_gind) (EU countries by natural change rate, 2016) [Data set]. Retrieved October 12, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_gind/default/table

MLA 9

Population change, crude rate of natural change of population (demo_gind), EU countries by natural change rate, 2016. Eurostat, European Commission, 30 Sept. 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_gind/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/natural-change-rate/eu-countries?period=2016. Accessed 12 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Population change, crude rate of natural change of population (demo_gind). EU countries by natural change rate, 2016. Dataset. Accessed October 12, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_gind/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/natural-change-rate/eu-countries?period=2016.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Population change, crude rate of natural change of population (demo_gind), EU countries by natural change rate, 2016 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_gind/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/natural-change-rate/eu-countries?period=2016 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_natural_2016,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Population change, crude rate of natural change of population (demo\_gind): EU countries by natural change rate, 2016}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_gind/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-12},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/natural-change-rate/eu-countries?period=2016. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Population change, crude rate of natural change of population (demo\_gind). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo\_gind/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Population change, crude rate of natural change of population (demo_gind): EU countries by natural change rate, 2016
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/09/30
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_gind/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/natural-change-rate/eu-countries?period=2016
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/natural-change-rate/eu-countries?period=2016.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Population change, crude rate of natural change of population (demo_gind). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/demo_gind/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-12.
ER  -
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Questions

Which EU country has the highest natural change rate?

Ireland, with 7 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2016, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest natural change rate?

Bulgaria, with -6.2 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2016.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Population change, crude rate of natural change of population (demo_gind). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Natural change rate: other rankings

EU countries: more rankings