Fertility rate falls to a new record low

DERBY IS ONLY AREA IN OUR COUNTY TO SEE AN INCREASE

- By IAN JONES

THE fertility rate for England and Wales has fallen for the third year in a row to reach a new record low, figures show.

The total fertility rate across both nations, defined as the average number of live children women would expect to have across their childbearing life, stood at 1.41 in 2024.

This is down from 1.42 in 2023 and is the lowest since comparable data began in 1938, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

For a country’s population to remain stable over time - discounting any impact from migration - the total fertility rate needs to be around 2.1.

The drop in the rate comes despite the number of births in England and Wales increasing slightly last year from 591,072 to 594,677.

But this was offset by a jump in the size of the overall population, meaning fertility rates fell overall.

The figures come just a day after Scotland’s total fertility rate was also confirmed to have dropped to a new record low, falling from 1.27 in 2023 to 1.25 in 2024. The latest rate for Northern Ireland is due to be published later this year.

Greg Ceely, ONS head of population health monitoring, said: “Fertility rates in England and Wales have been in overall decline since 2010.