English Fertility Rate Falls to Lowest Level Since Before World War II

The fertility rate for women under the age of 30 in England has fallen to the lowest level since 1938, with nearly one-third of babies being born to foreign mothers, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The ONS report, which was released on Wednesday, found that fertility rates declined for all age groups in England and Wales, with the exception of women over the age of 40, who saw the rate of births increase to 16.5 per 1,000 women.

The total fertility rate (TFR) for England and Wales decreased from 1.7 children per woman in 2018 to 1.65 children per woman in 2019, which is lower than all recorded years except 2000, 2001 and 2002.

Fertility rates are determined by calculating the average number of children a woman gives birth to in her lifetime. A fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman is required to maintain a country’s population.

The report also found that over a quarter of all live births (28.7 per cent) were to women born outside the United Kingdom, the highest percentage since 1969. 

Pakistan represented the highest number of fathers born outside the country, with 17,519 Pakistani men siring children in the UK last year.