Economic pressures and changing priorities are reducing the number of births in the UK

Preliminary data issued by the Office of National Statistics on May 27 showed that the number of live births in both England and Wales fell to its lowest level since 1976, as more than four out of every 10 births in 2025 have one parent (at least) born outside the United Kingdom.

According to the Office for National Statistics, the number of live births in “England” and “Wales” reached 585,396 births in 2025, a slight decrease of 1.6% from 594,677 births in 2024. This is the lowest total of births annually since data recording began in 1976.

Fertility rates in “England” and “Wales” have witnessed a general decline since 2010, while “Scotland” recorded a lower birth rate of about 1.25, which is the lowest since the beginning of civil registration in 1855, according to Scottish national records.

The proportion of live births with one or both parents born outside the UK rose to 40.2% in 2025, compared to 39.5% in 2024. This proportion has increased steadily over the past two decades, as net migration from other countries to the UK continues. For comparison, data from the Office of National Statistics showed that the percentage reached 35.8% in 2022, and 37.3% in 2023, and the average age of mothers rose to about 31.1 years, while the average age of fathers reached 34 years, which confirms the continuation of the long-term trend towards delaying childbearing age by several years, for various reasons.

Demographic experts generally link this decline to the postponement of pregnancy among many families in Britain, as a result of multiple economic pressures, such as rising house prices and the difficulty of obtaining stable housing, in addition to changing social priorities among younger generations, as girls now prefer to achieve their goals on the professional level, before being preoccupied with pregnancy and childbirth, and the many burdens that this entails.

Births to UK-born mothers have fallen sharply over the past 15 years, while births to foreign-born parents have risen.

Countries such as India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Romania and Bangladesh topped the list of countries giving birth to mothers who were not born in the United Kingdom. For non-UK-born parents, the situation was broadly similar, except that Romania and Bangladesh swapped positions. India has maintained its lead in both groups since 2022, followed by Pakistan in second place, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

Only 330,40 children were born to parents born in the United Kingdom, equivalent to 56.4% of all births. The statistics cover only one generation, meaning that many members of this group already have a migration background.

In comparison, 458,381 children were born to parents born in the United Kingdom in 2024.

The persistently low fertility rate below replacement level among the UK-born population, combined with the heavy reliance on immigration to maintain the overall population, pose long-term challenges to workforce sustainability, public finances and social cohesion.

Given current birth trends, and assuming net migration continues at recent levels, coupled with a continuing decline in the domestic fertility rate, the model of Emeritus Professor of Demography at the University of Oxford, David Coleman, predicts that the white British population will fall to less than 50% of the total UK population by the early 2060s.

White Britons will fall from approximately 73% today to 57% by 2050, and will become a third of the population by 2100.

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. The proportion of live births where one or both parents were born outside the UK rose to 40.2% in 2025.