Europe's declining population and the contribution of ART

Abstract

More than 70 000 children are born annually in Europe as a result of assisted reproduction (ART). Concerning individual European countries, there is a large variation in the uptake if ART. In Denmark and Finland the number of ART treatment cycles is well above 1500 cycles per million inhabitants, while countries like Portugal, Spain, Ireland and the UK have only one third to one fourth as many ART cycles annually. Denmark is the country with the highest uptake of ART in Europe and currently about 6% of all children born in has been conceived by ART. If the rest of the European countries managed to increase their uptake of ART to the same level as Denmark, nearly 400 000 children would be born annually as a result of ART.

The total fertility rate in all European countries has fallen below replacement levels and the old age dependency ratio will in many countries increase to a level which is not economically sustainable. It is obvious that Europeans need to address the demographic issue. Health economic studies indicate that increased spending on ART might be a very cost effective measure to increase the total fertility rate of a population.