The rate of childbirth among women in England and Wales between 2022 and 2023 was the lowest ever recorded, with an average of 1.44 children per woman. Figures released by the Office for National Statistics revealed that just over 591,000 babies were born in the UK last year, the lowest number in four decades. The average age of fathers and mothers welcoming their first children has increased to 33.8 and 30.9, respectively.
Reports suggest that millennials, those born up to the mid-1990s, are not having children due to financial pressures, feelings of unpreparedness or not finding the right partner. The number of women of child-bearing age in 2023 was the highest ever recorded at 12 million, but the total fertility rate was the lowest since 1938.
The most dramatic decline in fertility rates between 2010 and 2023 was seen in the 20-24 and 25-29 age groups. To maintain populations, the fertility rate in a country needs to be around 2.1 children per woman. The UK is not alone in witnessing falling fertility rates; such trends are evident in most countries worldwide.
Despite the declining fertility rate in England and Wales since the 1970s, the population has continued to grow, partly due to immigration. In Scotland, the total fertility rate also fell to 1.3, and the number of babies born was down to the lowest figure ever recorded at 45,935, according to the National Records of Scotland.
Experts suggest that offering longer paid parental leave, more funding for childcare and fertility treatments in the NHS could help stem the declining birthrate, but policies to incentivize more children would be expensive and may not be effective. A recent study from University College London found that only one in four 32-year-olds who want children in England is actively trying to have them. Researchers noted that financial and work pressures were often cited for those born in 1989-90 as reasons not to have children
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