Conception and fertility rates

Childbearing, conceptions, births and abortions in the UK. Statistics on average family size and maternity trends among women, by age and area.

Spotlight

There were 817,515 conceptions in 2020 to women aged 15 to 44 years in England and Wales, marking the sixth consecutive annual decrease.
Women in the 30-to-34 age group had the highest number of conceptions for the fourth year in a row, with a record high of 248,528 conceptions in 2020.
The under-18 conception rate fell to 13.1 conceptions per 1,000 women in 2020 from 15.8 per 1,000 women in 2019, continuing the trend of decreasing conception rates and record lows seen since 2007.

Women in England and Wales born in 1975 who completed their childbearing years in 2020, had on average 1.92 children, no change from those born in 1974 but a lower average compared with the 2.08 for their mothers' generation (assumed to be born in 1949).
Two child families remain the most common family size (37%), however this is a decrease in the proportion of those having two children compared with their mothers' generation born in 1949 (44%).
Of women aged 45 years and born in 1975 who had completed their childbearing years in 2020, 18% were childless, with 17% having only one child, both of which are increases compared with their mothers' generation (both 13%).

Live births, stillbirths and the intensity of childbearing, measured by the total fertility rate.

Quarterly conceptions to women aged under 18 years, England and Wales

Quarterly statistics on conceptions to women aged under 18 years resident in England and Wales; numbers and rates are by regions and other local authority areas.
Conceptions in England and Wales

Annual statistics on conceptions to residents of England and Wales – numbers and rates by age group including women aged under 18 years, inside and outside marriage or civil partnership, and area of usual residence.
Childbearing for women born in different years

Annual analysis of fertility by cohort for women born in England and Wales. Cohort fertility analysis allows the fertility experience of a group of women sharing the same birth year (a “cohort”) to be traced through time and compared with other cohorts.
Conceptions in England and Wales

Annual statistics on conceptions to residents of England and Wales – numbers and rates by age group including women aged under 18 years, inside and outside marriage or civil partnership, and area of usual residence.

Conceptions in England and Wales: 2021

Annual statistics on conceptions to residents of England and Wales, with numbers and rates by age group including women aged under 18 years.
Birth characteristics in England and Wales: 2021

Annual live births in England and Wales by sex, birthweight, gestational age, ethnicity and month, maternities by place of birth and with multiple births, and stillbirths by age of parents and calendar quarter.
Childbearing for women born in different years, England and Wales: 2020

The changing composition of families over time, comparing the fertility of women of the same age and the number of children they have had.
Births by parents’ country of birth, England and Wales: 2022

Annual statistics on live births including countries of birth for non-UK-born mothers and fathers.
Births in England and Wales: 2022

Live births and stillbirths annual summary statistics.

Teenage pregnancies - perception versus reality
Childbearing by socio-economic status and country of birth of mother

This article explores the relationship between the socio-economic status of women and their fertility and, in particular, examines how this differs for UK born women compared with non-UK born women. How is a woman’s socio-economic status associated with her childbearing outcomes?

Includes population, identity, housing, people in or out of work, education and health.