Fertility rate in England and Wales falls to lowest level on record, ONS figures show

Total fertility rates have been in decline since 2010, with the ‘the most dramatic’ drop in the 20-24 and 25-29 age groups, the data shows

The fertility rate in England and Wales has collapsed to a record low, according to new data.
The number of babies born per woman was 1.44 in 2023, compared with 1.49 the year before, and is the lowest since records began in 1938, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Women also gave birth to the fewest number of children since 1977, with those choosing to become mothers doing so increasingly later in life.
In 2023, there were 591,072 registered live births, which is the fewest since 1977 when there were 569,259. The fertility rate in England and Wales has been in decline since 2010, when it was 1.94. It was 1.84 in 1938 but boomed during the post Second World War period.
The fertility rate decreased most among women aged 20 to 24 – down 79 per cent from 181.6 live births per 1,000 women of this age group in 1964 to 38.6 in 2023.
The average age of mothers remained stable at 30.9, while the average age for fathers increased slightly, from 33.7 in 2022 to 33.8 last year.
Women have increasingly had children at older ages, with only one in five women born in 1997 having a child before the age of 25 – the lowest of any earlier generation.
The biggest declines in the overall total fertility rate were in Wales, from 1.46 in 2022 to 1.39 last year, and the north west of England, from 1.53 to 1.46. The rate in London remained the lowest, falling from 1.39 to 1.35, while in the North East it fell from 1.47 to 1.43. The rate for the West Midlands dropped from 1.62 to 1.58.
The fertility rate is defined as the average number of live children a group of women would have if they experienced the age-specific fertility rates throughout their childbearing life.
A fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman is needed on average to ensure the long-term “natural” replacement of the population, according to the ONS.
The global total fertility rate was 2.3 children per woman in 2022, less than half the rate in 1963, when it was 5.3, with most countries seeing a decline.
The ONS data showed stillbirth rates fell in Wales from 4.4 per 1,000 births in 2022 to 4.0, and were unchanged in England at 3.9 per 1,000 births.
The rate of stillbirths decreased in the black, mixed or multiple, and white ethnic groups for England and Wales compared with 2022, but rose in the Asian and “any other” ethnic groups, the ONS said.
Stillbirth rates overall remain higher for Asian, black, and “any other” ethnic groups than the England and Wales overall rate, the statistics body added.
Greg Ceely, head of population health monitoring at the ONS, said: “The annual number of births in England and Wales continues its recent decline, with 2023 recording the lowest number of live births seen since 1977.
“Total fertility rates declined in 2023, a trend we have seen since 2010. Looking in more detail at fertility rates among women of different ages, the decline in fertility rates has been the most dramatic in the 20-24 and 25-29 age groups.”