Health · 8 September 2026

Births in England and Wales lowest since 1977

Unsplash / Kelly Sikkema

There were 585,396 live births in England and Wales last year, the fewest since 1977, ONS figures published on Tuesday show. The fertility rate fell to 1.39 children per woman, with births down in every English region. Fertility rose only among women in their thirties and fell in every other age group, as parenthood shifts later and mothers' average age reached 31.1 years.

By BriefTea Editorial · 8 September 2026 at 18:28

Reported by Office for National Statistics · How we write briefs

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Why are births falling? What happened in 1977? What is the fertility rate?

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