There were almost 695,000 live births recorded in the United Kingdom in 2021, compared with almost 682,000 in the previous year. Between 1887 and 2021, the year with the highest number of live births was 1920, when there were approximately 1.13 million births, while the year with the fewest births was 1977, when there were approximately 657,000 births. Birth rate falls to a historic low in 2020 At 10.2 births per 1,000 people, the birth rate of the United Kingdom in 2020 was at a historic low. After witnessing a twenty-first century high of 12.9 in 2010, the birth rate gradually declined before a sharp decrease was recorded between 2012 and 2013. Although there was a slight uptick in the birth rate in 2021, when there were 10.4 births per 1,000 people, the total fertility rate reached a low of 1.53 births per woman in the same year. As well as falling birth and fertility rates, the average age of mothers has been increasing. In 1991, the average age of mothers at childbirth was 27.7 years, compared with 30.9 years in 2021. UK population reaches 68 million In 2023, the overall population of the United Kingdom reached almost 68.3 million people. Of the four countries that comprise the UK, England has by far the highest population, at 57.7 million, compared with almost 5.5 million in Scotland, 3.2 million in Wales, and 1.9 million in Northern Ireland. These countries are far less densely populated than England, especially when compared to London, which had approximately 5,630 people per square kilometer, compared with just 70 in Scotland. After London, North West England was the second-most densely populated area of the UK, which includes the large metropolitan areas of the cities of Manchester, and Liverpool

Annual UK and constituent country figures for births, deaths, marriages, divorces, civil partnerships and civil partnership dissolutions.

Among the nations of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland had the highest number of live births per 1,000 in 2021, at 11.6, followed by England at 10.5, Wales at 9.3, and Scotland at 8.7. The crude birth rate has fallen for all nations of the UK when compared with 1971, while Northern Ireland has consistently had the highest number of live births per 1,000 people. Long-term birth trends After reaching a postwar peak of 18.8 births per 1,000 people, the UK's crude birth rate has declined considerably, falling to a low of just eleven births per 1,000 people in 2020. In that year, there were just 681,560 live births, compared with over one million in 1964. Additionally, the average age of mothers at childbirth in the UK has been steadily increasing since the mid-1970s. In 1975, for example, the average age at which mothers gave birth was 26.4 years, compared with 30.9 in 2021. Millennials overtake Boomers as the largest generation Due to the large number of births that happened in the years following the Second World War, the generation born during this time were called Baby Boomers, and until 2020 were the largest generation in the UK. Since that year, the Millennial generation, born between 1981 and 1996, has been the largest generational cohort. In 2023, there were almost 14.7 million Millennials, just over 14 million Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980), and around 13.6 million Baby Boomers. Generation Z, the generation immediately after Millennials, numbered approximately 13.2 million in this year.

In 2021 the live birth rate of the United Kingdom fell to 10.4 births per 1,000 population, the lowest it had been during this time period. The UK's birth rate has been declining steadily since 2010 when the birth rate was 12.9 births per 1,000 population. After 1938, the year with the highest birth rate in the UK was 1947, when the crude birth rate was 21.2 births per 1,000 population. Under two children per mother in 2021 The most recent crude live birth rate for this statistic is based on the 694,685 births, that occurred in 2021 as well as the mid-year population estimate of 67 million for the United Kingdom. It has a close relation to the fertility rate which estimates the average number of children women are expected to have in their lifetime, which was 1.53 in this reporting year. Among the constituent countries of the UK, Northern Ireland had the highest birth rate at 11.6, followed by England at 10.5, Wales at 9.3, and Scotland at 8.7. International comparisons The UK is not alone in seeing its birth and fertility rates decline dramatically in recent decades. Across the globe, fertility rates have fallen noticeably since the 1960s, with the fertility rate for Asia, Europe, and the Americas being below two in 2021. As of this year, the global fertility rate was 2.31, and was by far the highest in Africa, which had a fertility rate of 4.12, although this too has fallen from a high of 6.72 in the late 1960s. A reduction in infant mortality, as well as better access to contraception, are factors that have typically influenced declining fertility rates recently.

Live births and stillbirths annual summary statistics, by sex, age of mother, whether within marriage or civil partnership, percentage of non-UK-born mothers, birth rates and births by month and mothers' area of usual residence.

In the United Kingdom, the crude birth rate in 1800 was 37 live births per thousand people, meaning that 3.7 percent of the population had been born in that year. From 1800 until 1830, the crude birth rate jumped between 35 and 45, before plateauing between 35 and 37 until the 1880s. From 1880 until the Second World War, the crude birth rate dropped to just under fifteen births per one thousand people, with the only increase coming directly after World War One. After WWII, the United Kingdom experienced a baby boom, as many soldiers returned home and the economy recovered, however this boom stopped in the late 1960s and the crude birth rate went into decline again. From the late 1970s until today, the crude birth rate has remained between eleven and fourteen, and is expected to be 11.5 in 2020.

The United Kingdom: The number of crude births per 1000 people, per year: The latest value from 2023 is 10.02 births per 1000 people, a decline from 10.1 births per 1000 people in 2022. In comparison, the world average is 17.86 births per 1000 people, based on data from 196 countries. Historically, the average for the United Kingdom from 1960 to 2023 is 13.38 births per 1000 people. The minimum value, 10.02 births per 1000 people, was reached in 2023 while the maximum of 18.8 births per 1000 people was recorded in 1964.

The fertility rate of a country is the average number of children that women from that country would have throughout their reproductive years. In the United Kingdom in 1800, the average woman of childbearing age would have five children over the course of their lifetime. Over the next 35 years the fertility rate was quite sporadic, rising to over 5.5 in the 1810s and 1820s, then dropping to 4.9 by 1835. This was during and after the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 with the US, which was a time of increased industrialization, economic depression and high unemployment after the war. As things became more stable, and the 'Pax Britannica' (a period of relative, international peace and economic prosperity for the British Empire) came into full effect, the fertility rate plateaued until 1880, before dropping gradually until the First World War. The fertility rate then jumped from 2.6 to 3.1 children per woman between 1915 and 1920, as many men returned from the war. It then resumed it's previous trajectory in the interwar years, before increasing yet again after the war (albeit, for a much longer time than after WWI), in what is known as the 'Baby Boom'. Like the US, the Baby Boom lasted until around 1980, where it then fell to 1.7 children per woman, and it has remained around this number (between 1.66 and 1.87) since then.

Live births in the UK by area of usual residence of mother. The tables contain summary data for local authorities and local health boards (within Wales) including figures by age of mother.

Annual live births in England and Wales by sex, birthweight, gestational age, ethnicity and month. Maternities by place of birth and with multiple births. Stillbirths by age of parents and calendar quarter.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes data on the number of live births by the mother's country of birth in England and Wales each year. Every time a birth is registered in England and Wales both parents are required to state their places of birth on their child's birth certificate, and this information is then collated to produce these statistics. In order to make it easier to look at what these data tell us about births in London, and how these have been changing over time, the GLA Demography team has extracted the data which relate to London from the main ONS dataset since 2001 and presented it here in an easily accessible format. For more information about how the ONS produces these statistics, please visit their website: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths

For more information about how we extracted these data and created this report, please this project's Github repository: https://github.com/Greater-London-Authority/births_by_mothers_country_of_birth

Since 2001, the number of live births being recorded in London has changed from 104,162 to 106,129 births per year. The proportion of births which were to mothers who had been born outside the UK has changed from 43% in 2001 to 60% in the most recent year (2024). In 2024, the region of origin which supplied the largest number of births to non-UK-born mothers in London was Asia with 27,269, followed by the Africa which provided 10,696. The region of origin which has seen the largest change since 2001 is the Asia, which went from 13,489 live births per year in 2001 to 27,269 in 2024.

In 2024, the region with the largest number of births to non-UK-born mothers was London with 63,460 live births (% of all live births in London). By contrast, the region with the lowest number of births to non-UK-born mothers was the Wales with 4,330 live births to non-UK-born mothers, which only represented 16% of all live births in that region. The data shows that London accounted for 31% of all the births to non-UK-born mothers in England and Wales in 2024, which was a far higher proportion than any other region. These data also highlight a couple of other interesting comparisons. Firstly, despite being the second largest region in England and Wales in terms of population, London is not the region with the largest number of births to UK-born mothers. Secondly, London is the only region to have relatively large numbers of mothers from every region of the world according to the way in which the ONS has categorised them, including Africa, non-EU European countries (such as Turkey and Russia) and the 'Rest of the World' (which includes the Americas and Oceania). The data comparing London with England & Wales excluding London and England & Wales as a whole (including London) is provided in the table below:

  Total Births - UK Mothers


  Total Births - Overseas Mothers


  Pre-2004 EU countries


  Post-2004 EU accession countries


  Rest of Europe


  Asia


  Africa


  Rest of the world




  Year


  Region


  No.


  %


  No.


  %


  No.


  %


  No.


  %


  No.


  %


  No.


  %


  No.


  %


  No.


  %






  2024


  London


  42,669


  40%


  63,460


  60%


  6,541


  6%


  7,294


  7%


  5,585


  5%


  27,269


  26%


  10,696


  10%


  6,075


  6%




  2024


  Rest of England & Wales


  350,240


  72%


  138,138


  28%


  10,522


  2%


  23,104


  5%


  6,787


  1%


  60,017


  12%


  30,432


  6%


  7,276


  1%




  2024


  England & Wales


  392,909


  66%


  201,598


  34%


  17,063

Statistics on live and still births occurring annually in England and Wales. Statistics for births in previous years are included to show trends in fertility. It also covers birth counts and birth rates tabulated by, among other attributes, parents' age, occurrence within or outside marriage, multiple births, mother's area of residence and country of birth, place of confinement, and father's social class (defined by occupation).

Source agency: Office for National Statistics

Designation: National Statistics

Language: English

Alternative title: Birth statistics, England and Wales (Series FM1)

In 2022, there were ******* live births to mothers aged between 30 and 34 years old in England and Wales, making it the most common age group for live births in that year. Between 1973 and 2000, the most common age for mother giving birth was ** to **, and between 1961 and 1972 it was ** to **, indicating a gradual trend of mothers giving birth later in life.

This is a publication on maternity activity in English NHS hospitals. This report examines data relating to delivery and birth episodes in 2023-24, and the booking appointments for these deliveries. This annual publication covers the financial year ending March 2024. Data is included from both the Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES) data warehouse and the Maternity Services Data Set (MSDS). HES contains records of all admissions, appointments and attendances for patients admitted to NHS hospitals in England. The HES data used in this publication are called 'delivery episodes'. The MSDS collects records of each stage of the maternity service care pathway in NHS-funded maternity services, and includes information not recorded in HES. The MSDS is a maturing, national-level dataset. In April 2019, the MSDS transitioned to a new version of the dataset. This version, MSDS v2.0, is an update that introduced a new structure and content - including clinical terminology, in order to meet current clinical practice and incorporate new requirements. It is designed to meet requirements that resulted from the National Maternity Review, which led to the publication of the Better Births report in February 2016. This is the fifth publication of data from MSDS v2.0 and data from 2019-20 onwards is not directly comparable to data from previous years. This publication shows the number of HES delivery episodes during the period, with a number of breakdowns including by method of onset of labour, delivery method and place of delivery. It also shows the number of MSDS deliveries recorded during the period, with a breakdown for the mother's smoking status at the booking appointment by age group. It also provides counts of live born term babies with breakdowns for the general condition of newborns (via Apgar scores), skin-to-skin contact and baby's first feed type - all immediately after birth. There is also data available in a separate file on breastfeeding at 6 to 8 weeks. For the first time information on 'Smoking at Time of Delivery' has been presented using annual data from the MSDS. This includes national data broken down by maternal age, ethnicity and deprivation. From 2025/2026, MSDS will become the official source of 'Smoking at Time of Delivery' information and will replace the historic 'Smoking at Time of Delivery' data which is to become retired. We are currently undergoing dual collection and reporting on a quarterly basis for 2024/25 to help users compare information from the two sources. We are working with data submitters to help reconcile any discrepancies at a local level before any close down activities begin. A link to the dual reporting in the SATOD publication series can be found in the links below. Information on how all measures are constructed can be found in the HES Metadata and MSDS Metadata files provided below. In this publication we have also included an interactive Power BI dashboard to enable users to explore key NHS Maternity Statistics measures. The purpose of this publication is to inform and support strategic and policy-led processes for the benefit of patient care. This report will also be of interest to researchers, journalists and members of the public interested in NHS hospital activity in England. Any feedback on this publication or dashboard can be provided to enquiries@nhsdigital.nhs.uk, under the subject “NHS Maternity Statistics”.

United Kingdom UK: Adolescent Fertility Rate: Births per 1000 Women Aged 15-19 data was reported at 13.547 Ratio in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 14.596 Ratio for 2015. United Kingdom UK: Adolescent Fertility Rate: Births per 1000 Women Aged 15-19 data is updated yearly, averaging 30.317 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2016, with 57 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 88.785 Ratio in 1962 and a record low of 13.547 Ratio in 2016. United Kingdom UK: Adolescent Fertility Rate: Births per 1000 Women Aged 15-19 data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Health Statistics. Adolescent fertility rate is the number of births per 1,000 women ages 15-19.; ; United Nations Population Division, World Population Prospects.; Weighted average;

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) publishes data on the number of live births by the mother's country of birth in England and Wales each year. Every time a birth is registered in England and Wales both parents are required to state their places of birth on their child's birth certificate, and this information is then collated to produce these statistics. In order to make it easier to look at what these data tell us about births in London, and how these have been changing over time, the GLA Demography team has extracted the data which relate to London from the main ONS dataset since 2001 and presented it here in an easily accessible format. For more information about how the ONS produces these statistics, please visit their website: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths For more information about how we extracted these data and created this report, please this project's Github repository: https://github.com/Greater-London-Authority/births_by_mothers_country_of_birth Since 2001, the number of live births being recorded in London has changed from 104,162 to 104,246 births per year. The proportion of births which were to mothers who had been born outside the UK has changed from 43% in 2001 to 59% in the most recent year (2023). In 2023, the region of origin which supplied the largest number of births to non-UK-born mothers in London was Asia with 24,004, followed by the Africa which provided 10,596. The region of origin which has seen the largest change since 2001 is the Asia, which went from 13,489 live births per year in 2001 to 24,004 in 2023. In 2023, the region with the largest number of births to non-UK-born mothers was London with 61,357 live births (59% of all live births in London). By contrast, the region with the lowest number of births to non-UK-born mothers was the Wales with 3,891 live births to non-UK-born mothers, which only represented 14% of all live births in that region. The data shows that London accounted for 33% of all the births to non-UK-born mothers in England and Wales in 2023, which was a far higher proportion than any other region. These data also highlight a couple of other interesting comparisons. Firstly, despite being the second largest region in England and Wales in terms of population, London is not the region with the largest number of births to UK-born mothers. Secondly, London is the only region to have relatively large numbers of mothers from every region of the world according to the way in which the ONS has categorised them, including Africa, non-EU European countries (such as Turkey and Russia) and the 'Rest of the World' (which includes the Americas and Oceania). The data comparing London with England & Wales excluding London and England & Wales as a whole (including London) is provided in the table below: Total Births - UK Mothers Total Births - Overseas Mothers Pre-2004 EU countries Post-2004 EU accession countries Rest of Europe Asia Africa Rest of the world Year Region No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % No. % 2023 London 42,889 41% 61,357 59% 6,505 6% 8,265 8% 5,985 6% 24,004 23% 10,596 10% 6,002 6% 2023 Rest of England & Wales 360,109 74% 126,540 26% 10,590 2% 26,464 5% 6,587 1% 49,668 10% 26,014 5% 7,217 1% 2023 England & Wales 402,998 68% 187,897 32% 17,095 3% 34,729 6% 12,572 2% 73,672 12% 36,610 6% 13,219 2% Births by Mother's Country of Birth by London Borough

United Kingdom UK: Birth Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data was reported at 11.800 Ratio in 2016. This records a decrease from the previous number of 11.900 Ratio for 2015. United Kingdom UK: Birth Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data is updated yearly, averaging 12.900 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2016, with 57 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 18.800 Ratio in 1964 and a record low of 11.300 Ratio in 2002. United Kingdom UK: Birth Rate: Crude: per 1000 People data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United Kingdom – Table UK.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Crude birth rate indicates the number of live births occurring during the year, per 1,000 population estimated at midyear. Subtracting the crude death rate from the crude birth rate provides the rate of natural increase, which is equal to the rate of population change in the absence of migration.; ; (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision. (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Reprot (various years), (5) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and (6) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.; Weighted average;

Annual live births in England and Wales by age of mother and father, type of registration, median interval between births, number of previous live-born children and National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC).

Fertility rate, total (births per woman) in United Kingdom was reported at 1.56 % in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United Kingdom - Fertility rate, total (births per woman) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on March of 2026.