Live births

Live births by age of mother/father, sex, marital status, country of birth, socio-economic status, previous children and area.

Highlights

There were 679,106 live births in England and Wales in 2017, a decrease of 2.5% from 2016 and the lowest number of live births since 2006.
In 2017, the total fertility rate (TFR) declined for the fifth consecutive year to 1.76 children per woman, from 1.81 in 2016.
Fertility rates decreased for every age group in 2017, except for women aged 40 years and over, where rates increased by 1.3% to 16.1 births per 1,000 women in that age group, reaching the highest level since 1949.

Birth in England and Wales: summary tables

Annual summary statistics on live births and stillbirths, by sex, age of mother, whether inside marriage or civil partnership, percentage of non-UK-born mothers, birth rates and births by mothers' area of usual residence.
Births by mothers’ usual area of residence in the UK

Live births in the UK by area of usual residence of mother. The tables contain summary data for local authorities and local health boards (within Wales) including figures by age of mother.
Baby Names Statistics Girls

Ranks and counts for girls' baby names in England and Wales and also by region and month.
Baby Names Statistics Boys

Ranks and counts for boys' baby names in England and Wales and also by region and month.
Birth characteristics

Live births by sex, ethnicity and month. Maternities by place of birth and with multiple births. Stillbirths by age of parents and quarter.
Births by parents’ characteristics

Live births in England and Wales by age of mother and father, type of registration, median interval between births, number of previous live-born children and National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC).

Births in England and Wales: 2017

Live births, stillbirths and the intensity of childbearing, measured by the total fertility rate.
Baby names in England and Wales: 2016

Most popular first names for baby boys and girls using birth registration data.
Births by parents’ country of birth, England and Wales: 2017

Annual statistics on live births. Includes countries of birth for non-UK born mothers and fathers.
Childbearing for women born in different years, England and Wales: 2016

The changing composition of families over time, comparing women of the same age and the children they have had.
Births by parents’ characteristics in England and Wales: 2016

Live births by age of mother and father, type of registration, median interval between births, number of previous live-born children and National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SEC).
Birth characteristics in England and Wales: 2016

Live births by sex, ethnicity and month. Maternities by place of birth and with multiple births. Stillbirths by age of parents and quarter.

How popular is your birthday?

A peak in births in late September show that more babies are conceived in the weeks leading up to and days after Christmas than at any other time of the year.