UK birth rate by country 2021

Among nations of the UK, Northern Ireland had the highest number of live births per 1,000 in 2021, at 11.6, followed by England at 10.5, Wales at 9.3, and Scotland at 8.7. The crude birth has fallen for all nations of the UK when compared with 1971, while Northern Ireland has consistently had the highest number of live births per 1,000 people.

Long-term birth trends

After reaching a postwar peak of 18.8 births per 1,000 people, the UK's crude birth rate has declined considerably, falling to a low of just 11 births per 1,000 people in 2020. In that year, there were just 681,560 live births, compared with over one million in 1964. Additionally, the average age of mothers in the UK has been steadily increasing since the mid-1970s. In 1975, for example, the average age at which mothers gave birth was 26.4 years, compared with 30.9 in 2021.

Millennials overtake Boomers as largest generation

Due to the large number of births that happened in the years following the Second World War, the generation born during this time were called Baby Boomers, and until 2020 were the largest generation in the UK. Since that year, the Millennial generation, born between 1981 and 1996 have been the largest generational cohort. In 2022, there were approximately 14.48 million Millennials, 14.14 million Generation X members (born between 1965 and 1980) and around 13.8 million Baby Boomers. Generation Z, the generation immediately after Millennials, numbered approximately 12.9 million in 2022.

Crude birth rate in the United Kingdom from 1971 to 2021, by country

Characteristic	England	Scotland	Wales	Northern Ireland
2021	10.5	8.7	9.3	11.6
2020	10.3	8.6	9	11
2019	10.8	9.1	9.4	11.9
2018	11.2	9.4	10	12.1
2017	11.6	9.7	10.3	12.3
2016	12	10.1	10.6	12.9
2015	12.1	10.3	10.7	13.1
2014	12.2	10.6	10.8	13.3
2013	12.3	10.5	10.9	13.3
2012	13	10.9	11.5	13.9
2011	13	11.1	11.6	13.9
2010	13.1	11.2	11.8	14
2009	12.9	11.3	11.5	13.9
2008	13	11.5	11.8	14.4
2007	12.8	11.2	11.4	13.9
2006	12.5	10.8	11.3	13.4
2005	12.1	10.6	11	12.9
2004	12.1	10.6	10.9	13
2003	11.8	10.3	10.7	12.7
2002	11.4	10.1	10.3	12.6
2001	11.4	10.4	10.5	13
2000	11.6	10.5	10.8	12.8
1999	12	10.9	11.1	13.7
1998	12.3	11.3	11.5	14.1
1997	12.5	11.7	11.9	14.4
1996	12.7	11.6	12.1	14.7
1995	12.7	11.8	11.9	14.4
1994	13	12.1	12.2	14.7
1993	13.2	12.4	12.7	15.1
1992	13.6	12.9	13	15.6
1991	13.8	13.2	13.3	16.2
1990	14	13	13.6	16.5
1989	13.7	12.5	13.3	16.2
1988	13.8	13	13.7	17.4
1987	13.6	13	13.4	17.5
1986	13.2	12.9	13.2	17.8
1985	13.2	13	13.1	17.5
1984	12.8	12.7	12.8	17.6
1983	12.7	12.6	12.7	17.4
1982	12.6	12.8	12.7	17.4
1981	12.8	13.3	12.7	17.6
1980	13.2	13.3	13.3	18.6
1979	12.9	13.1	12.9	18.4
1978	12.1	12.3	11.9	17.2
1977	11.5	11.9	11.3	16.7
1976	11.8	12.4	11.9	17.3
1975	12.2	13	12.2	17.2
1974	12.9	13.4	13	17.8
1973	13.7	14.2	13.6	19.1
1972	14.7	15	14.5	19.5
1971	15.9	16.6	15.7	20.6

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Release date

February 2023

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Region

United Kingdom

Survey time period

1971 to 2021

Supplementary notes

This statistic is using original data from the Office for National Statistics and includes copyright material from © Crown, licensed under the Open Government License v3.0.

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