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    • The map shows how many children were born where you live
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    The map shows how many children were born where you live

    Online Niel Posted on

    Fertility rate in England and Wales falls to lowest level since records began in 1938

    How many children were born if you are alive?
    How many children were born if you are alive?(Image: PA)

    England and Wales are facing a population crisis as fewer children were born last year than at any time since the 1970s. A new map shows that the typical size of the average family in England and Wales has fallen from 2.4 children to 1.4, the biggest fall was seen in Wales and North West England.

    Families had an average of 2.4 children each year in the past, becoming a well-known expression of the typical UK family. This was the phrase once coined to describe the size of the typical nuclear family in Britain. There was even a long duration BBC sitcom called 2Point4 Children, which ran from 1991 to December 30, 1999, just as the new millennium party was starting.

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    But new figures from the Office for National Statistics show there were 591,072 live births last year, the lowest number since 1977.The fertility rate – the average number of children a mother can expect to have in her lifetime – has fallen to its lowest level since records began in 1938.

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    The average average family size in England and Wales is no longer 2.4 children – it’s 1.4 Last year, the fertility rate fell from 1.49 to 1.44, to be exact.

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    Fertility rates fell in every part of the country, with the biggest declines seen in Wales and the North West of England. Of all the council areas in England and Wales, Cambridge had the lowest fertility rate last year at 0.91, less than one child per woman. Liverpool had among the lowest fertility rates in the whole country at 1.27.

    It is only slightly higher than in South Korea (0.72), the nation with the lowest fertility rate in the world. Cambridge was followed by Brighton and Hove (0.98), Camden (1.00), Westminster (1.00) and Islington (1.01). Luton had the highest fertility rate at 2.01, followed by Barking and Dagenham (2.00), Slough (1.93), Pendle (1.90) and Wolverhampton (1.87).

    You can see the fertility rate and number of live births where you live using our interactive map.

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    In England and Wales, the fertility rate peaked at nearly three children for every woman in 1964 (2.93). Since then, the trend has generally been downward, except between 2002 and 2010, when it increased from 1.64 to nearly two children per woman (1.94). There was also a slight increase in 2021 after the UK went into lockdown due to the pandemic.

    Official figures also show that the average age of mothers and fathers has generally increased over the past 50 years. In 2023, the average age of mothers remained at 30.9 years, while it increased to 33.8 years for fathers. Research suggests that millennials, born before the mid-1990s, are childless due to financial pressures, not feeling ready or not finding the right partner.

    Online Niel
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