Number of live births in the United Kingdom 2000-2018
There were 731 thousand live births recorded in the United Kingdom in 2018, a decline of almost 24 thousand births when compared with the previous year. Between 2000 and 2018 the year with the highest number of live births was 2012 when there were almost 813 thousand births.
Birth rate at a 15-year low
At 11.4 births per 1,000 people, the birth rate of the United Kingdom in 2017 marked a fifteen-year low. After witnessing a twenty-first century high of 12.9, the birth rate gradually started to decline before a sharp decrease was recorded between 2012 and 2013.
Age of mothers increasing
As well as a declining birth rate, the average age at which mother’s give birth in the United Kingdom has risen as well. From 2000 until 2012 the average age for mothers at childbirth increased from 28.5 to 29.8 years old, before reaching 30 in 2013. In 2017, the overall average age of mothers was 30.5 years, but for women having their first child it was 28.8.
Birth rate at a 15-year low
At 11.4 births per 1,000 people, the birth rate of the United Kingdom in 2017 marked a fifteen-year low. After witnessing a twenty-first century high of 12.9, the birth rate gradually started to decline before a sharp decrease was recorded between 2012 and 2013.
Age of mothers increasing
As well as a declining birth rate, the average age at which mother’s give birth in the United Kingdom has risen as well. From 2000 until 2012 the average age for mothers at childbirth increased from 28.5 to 29.8 years old, before reaching 30 in 2013. In 2017, the overall average age of mothers was 30.5 years, but for women having their first child it was 28.8.
