RSS
Bulgaria and Romania have the highest percentage of adolescent mothers in the EU
In the European Union (EU) in 2017, the majority of first births (92%) were to women aged between 20 and 39 years old. A further 4% of first births were to women aged below 20, while another 4% were to women aged 40 or over, Eurostat data show.
The highest shares of births of first children to young mothers aged below 20 were recorded in Bulgaria (12.5% of total births of first children in 2017) and Romania (12.1%). They were followed by Hungary (8.5%) and Slovakia (8.1%).
In contrast, young mothers accounted for less than 2% of first births in Denmark (1.0%), Italy and Slovenia (both 1.1%), the Netherlands (1.2%), Luxembourg and Sweden (both 1.4%).
Spain and Italy have the highest proportions of first births to mothers aged 40 or above
Concerning older mothers, the highest proportions of births of first children born to women aged 40 or over were registered in Spain (8.8% of total births of first children in 2017) and Italy (8.6%), followed by Greece (6.6%), Luxembourg and Ireland (both 5.9%).
At the other end of the scale, less than 2% of first-time births to women aged 40 or over were recorded in Lithuania (1.3%), Poland (1.4%), Slovakia (1.5%) and Latvia (1.8%).