The birth rate in France has overtaken that in Ireland propelling it into top position.
Figures released from Insee, the French national statistics agency, show that French women have an average of 1.99 children, just shy of the two needed to maintain population numbers.
This rate has been stable in France since 2006.
Ireland’s rate fell to 1.96. The third runner-up was Sweden where women have 1.89 babies.
Elsewhere in Europe, rates in most countries declined.
Insee concluded that birth rates drop when unemployment goes up, as happened in southern European nations, or when salaries tumble steeply, as was the case in the UK.
Insee's Chief of Social Studies, Laurence Rioux, said that France managed to maintain a high and stable birth rate because wages had remained stable and the unemployment rate, despite being at a record high, has risen only 2.9 percentage points since 2008.
"In the UK the fall in birth rate could be linked to a drop in disposable income, while in countries like Greece and Spain, it can be linked to a steep rise in unemployment," Rioux said.
She also pointed to high public spending on families.
"Public spending plays a key role. Birth rates are higher where spending on families is higher, like in the UK, France, Ireland and Sweden," she added.
