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 2022, at 3.7 per 1,000 inhabitants. Bulgaria had the lowest, at -9.6 per 1,000 inhabitants. The median was -2.8 per 1,000 inhabitants and the figure for the European Union (27) was -2.9 per 1,000 inhabitants. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

Highest3.7Ireland
Lowest-9.6Bulgaria
Median-2.827 EU countries
European Union (27)-2.9History

All EU countries, 2022

Ireland: 3.7 per 1,000 inhabitantsIreland3.7Cyprus: 3.1 per 1,000 inhabitantsCyprus3.1Luxembourg: 3.1 per 1,000 inhabitantsLuxembourg3.1Sweden: 1 per 1,000 inhabitantsSweden1France: 0.8 per 1,000 inhabitantsFrance0.8Malta: 0.1 per 1,000 inhabitantsMalta0.1Netherlands: -0.1 per 1,000 inhabitantsNetherlands-0.1Belgium: -0.2 per 1,000 inhabitantsBelgium-0.2Denmark: -0.2 per 1,000 inhabitantsDenmark-0.2Austria: -1.2 per 1,000 inhabitantsAustria-1.2Slovakia: -1.3 per 1,000 inhabitantsSlovakia-1.3Czechia: -1.8 per 1,000 inhabitantsCzechia-1.8Slovenia: -2.3 per 1,000 inhabitantsSlovenia-2.3Spain: -2.8 per 1,000 inhabitantsSpain-2.8Finland: -3.3 per 1,000 inhabitantsFinland-3.3Portugal: -3.8 per 1,000 inhabitantsPortugal-3.8Germany: -3.9 per 1,000 inhabitantsGermany-3.9Poland: -3.9 per 1,000 inhabitantsPoland-3.9Estonia: -4.2 per 1,000 inhabitantsEstonia-4.2Romania: -4.8 per 1,000 inhabitantsRomania-4.8Hungary: -4.9 per 1,000 inhabitantsHungary-4.9Italy: -5.5 per 1,000 inhabitantsItaly-5.5Croatia: -6 per 1,000 inhabitantsCroatia-6Greece: -6.1 per 1,000 inhabitantsGreece-6.1Lithuania: -7.4 per 1,000 inhabitantsLithuania-7.4Latvia: -7.8 per 1,000 inhabitantsLatvia-7.8Bulgaria: -9.6 per 1,000 inhabitantsBulgaria-9.6
per 1,000 inhabitants. Source: Eurostat, Population change, crude rate of natural change of population (demo_gind). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2022
per 1,000 inhabitants		Change on 2021
1Ireland3.7-1.4 pts
2Cyprus3.1-0.3 pts
2Luxembourg3.1-0.3 pts
4Sweden1-1.1 pts
5France0.8-0.4 pts
6Malta0.1-0.3 pts
7Netherlands-0.1-0.6 pts
8Belgium-0.2-0.7 pts
8Denmark-0.2-1.3 pts
10Austria-1.2-0.5 pts
11Slovakia-1.3+1.8 pts
12Czechia-1.8+0.9 pts
13Slovenia-2.3-0.3 pts
14Spain-2.8-0.4 pts
15Finland-3.3-1.8 pts
16Portugal Series break-3.8+0.5 pts
17Germany Series break-3.9-1.2 pts
17Poland-3.9+1.2 pts
19Estonia-4.2-0.2 pts
20Romania Estimated-4.8+2.6 pts
21Hungary-4.9+1.6 pts
22Italy-5.5-0.4 pts
23Croatia-6+0.8 pts
24Greece-6.1-0.5 pts
25Lithuania-7.4+1.3 pts
26Latvia-7.8+1.3 pts
27Bulgaria-9.6+4.3 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, 2022) [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, 2022. 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=2022. 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, 2022. 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=2022.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Population change, crude rate of natural change of population (demo_gind), EU countries by natural change rate, 2022 [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=2022 (Accessed: 12 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_natural_2022,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Population change, crude rate of natural change of population (demo\_gind): EU countries by natural change rate, 2022}},
  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=2022. 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, 2022
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=2022
Y2  - 2026/10/12
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/natural-change-rate/eu-countries?period=2022.
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 3.7 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2022, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest natural change rate?

Bulgaria, with -9.6 per 1,000 inhabitants in 2022.

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