Births in England and Wales: 2025 (final rates)

• Total fertility rate (TFR) was 1.39 children per woman in England and Wales in 2025, a decrease of 0.02 from 2024; individually, England decreased from 1.42 in 2024 to 1.39 in 2025, and Wales decreased from 1.35 in 2024 to 1.33 in 2025.

The following estimates are based on data first published in our Births in England and Wales: 2025 bulletin in May 2026:

• There were 585,396 live births in England and Wales in 2025, which is 1.6% fewer than the 594,677 recorded in 2024; Wales experienced a greater decrease of 2.0%, while in England, live births decreased by 1.5%.

• Both mothers' and fathers' standardised mean age (SMA) increased by 0.1 years from 2024; mothers' SMA was 31.1 years, and fathers' SMA was 34.0 years in 2025.

• 91.0% of live births occurred between 37 and 41 weeks gestation; higher proportions of births to mothers aged 45 years and over occurred pre-term, before 37 weeks, compared with births to younger mother age groups.

• The stillbirth rate for England and Wales was 3.9 for every 1,000 births in 2025, remaining unchanged from 2024.

• India remained the most common country of birth for non-UK-born parents, having held the top position for both mothers and fathers since 2022.

There were 585,396 live births in England and Wales in 2025, which is 1.6% fewer than the 594,677 recorded in 2024 (Figure 1). There were 558,988 births in England in 2025, which is 1.5% fewer than in 2024. Wales experienced a larger decrease of 2.0% to 26,282 births in 2025.

The number of live births decreased in every region in England between 2024 and 2025. The smallest decrease was in the North East, decreasing by 0.3%, while the largest decrease was in the West Midlands, decreasing by 3.1%.

Figure 1: The number of live births is the lowest since 1977

Number of live births, England and Wales, 1838 to 2025

Total fertility rate (TFR) was 1.39 children per woman in England and Wales in 2025, a decrease of 0.02 from 2024. England decreased from 1.42 in 2024 to 1.39 in 2025, and Wales decreased from 1.35 in 2024 to 1.33 in 2025.

In England, the local authorities with the highest TFR were Luton and Pendle (1.93). The local authorities with the lowest TFR were City of London (0.37), followed by Cambridge (0.87).

In Wales, Carmarthenshire, Isle of Anglesey and Newport had a joint highest TFR of 1.48. Swansea had the lowest TFR (1.18), followed by Cardiff (1.19).

Many local authorities in inner London and those containing university cities appear to have lower TFRs (Figure 2).

Figure 2: In 2025, the total fertility rate by local authority ranged from 0.37 to 1.93 children per woman

The total fertility rate by local authority district, England and Wales, 2025

Notes:

1. The total fertility rate (TFR) is the average number of live children that a group of women would bear if they experienced the age-specific fertility rates (ASFR) of the calendar year in question throughout their childbearing lifespan. Subnational TFRs have been calculated using the number of live births by five-year age groups.

2. The total fertility rate (TFR) is displayed to 1 decimal place, but is available in the data download to 2 decimal places.

Both mothers' and fathers' standardised mean age (SMA) have been increasing since 1976, and both increased by 0.1 years from 2024. Mothers' SMA was 31.1 years in 2025, increasing from 31.0 in 2024. Fathers' SMA increased from 33.9 years in 2024 to 34.0 in 2025.

The age-specific fertility rate (ASFR) was highest for women aged between 30 and 34 years, at 94.0 live births per 1,000 women. The ASFR was much lower for women aged 40 to 44 years (13.4 per 1,000 women) and aged 45 years and over (1.5 per 1,000 women) than among women aged 20 to 39 years. These age groups were included for the first time in this year's bulletin.

Figure 3: Age-specific fertility rate was higher at older ages for men and younger ages for women

Age-specific fertility rate for women and men, England and Wales, 2025

Notes:

1. Age-specific fertility rate is the number of live births to mothers or fathers of a particular age per 1,000 women or men of that age in the population.

The ASFR for women increased for age groups 30 to 39 years and decreased for all other age groups between 2024 and 2025. This same pattern has been seen since 2023.

The ASFR for men was also highest between ages 30 and 34 years (90.0 per 1,000 men). The ASFR for men decreased for age groups 50 to 54 years between 2024 and 2025. The ASFR for men aged 55 to 59 years increased and stayed the same for those aged 60 years and over.

Most live births (91.0%) occurred at 37 to 41 completed weeks of gestation in England and Wales. A further 6.6% were born at 32 to 36 weeks, 1.2% were born at 31 weeks or earlier, and 1.0% were born at 42 weeks or later. This distribution has remained broadly unchanged in recent years.

The pattern was similar across maternal age groups up to age 44 years, with at least 89.3% of live births occurring at 37 to 41 weeks gestation.

However, births to older mothers were more likely to occur before 37 weeks. Among mothers aged 45 to 49 years, 78.0% of live births occurred at 37 to 41 weeks, compared with 62.0% among mothers aged 50 years and over.

Figure 4 shows that a larger proportion of births to mothers at higher ages were pre-term. For mothers aged 45 to 49 years, 16.4% of live births occurred at 32 to 36 weeks and 3.4% at 28 to 31 weeks. For mothers aged 50 years and over, these proportions increased to 30.5% and 5.0%, respectively. This indicates that births to mothers aged 45 years and over were more likely to occur before full term than births to younger mothers.

Figure 4: A higher proportion of births to mothers aged 45 years and over were pre-term

Percentage of pre-term live births by mothers age, England and Wales, 2025

Notes:

1. Pre-term birth is a live birth occurring at 24 to 36 completed weeks of gestation.

2. Percentages will not add to 100% because each figure shows the proportion of live births that were pre-term for a specific maternal age group. The figures are calculated independently for each age group and are not percentages of all pre-term live births.

The stillbirth rate for England and Wales was 3.9 stillbirths per 1,000 total births in 2025, unchanged from 2024. In England, the rate remained at 3.8 per 1,000 births in both years. In Wales, the rate decreased from 4.4 to 4.2 per 1,000 births. Year-to-year changes in Wales should be interpreted with caution because the smaller number of births can lead to greater variation in rates.

Stillbirth rates were strongly associated with gestational age, with rates decreasing as gestation increased. The lowest rate was among births between 37 and 41 completed weeks of gestation (0.9 per 1,000 births), while births at earlier gestations had substantially higher rates. For example, among births at 24 to 27 weeks gestation, the stillbirth rate was 285.9 per 1,000 births.

In 2025, 34.6% of live births in England and Wales were to non-UK-born mothers; this is an increase from 33.9% in 2024. There was also an increase in live births to non-UK-born fathers, from 33.8% in 2024 to 34.4% in 2025.

The 10 most common countries of birth for non-UK-born mothers and fathers remained unchanged between 2024 and 2025. India remained the most common country of birth for both mothers and fathers, having held the top position for both since 2022. Pakistan and Nigeria remained the second and third most common countries, respectively.

Births to India-born mothers and fathers increased by 5.6% and 5.0%, respectively, between 2024 and 2025. The largest increases were for births to Afghanistan-born mothers (14.2%) and fathers (13.0%).

In contrast, births to Romania-born, Poland-born and Albania-born mothers and fathers all decreased between 2024 and 2025, with the largest decline recorded for Poland-born fathers (15.5%).

The most common birth date for babies born in 2025 was 28 May. This was the first time this has been the most frequent birth date of the year since 1999.

Figure 5 shows this is not a common occurrence for a date in May when looking at the average number of births by date from 1995 to 2025; mid-to-late September and early October are the most frequent dates of the year for a birth date, compared with 28 May, which ranked 168th out of 365 days.

The least frequent birth date showed less variation. For 2025, the least frequent birth date was 26 December. It was also the least frequent birth date on average from 1995 to 2025, consistently followed by 25 December and 1 January.

Figure 5: How popular is your birthday?

Average daily live births, England and Wales, 1995 to 2025

Notes:

1. Dates are ranked 1 to 365; where dates have the same number of live births, they are given the same rank number.

Age-specific fertility rate

Age-specific fertility rate (ASFR) is the number of live births to mothers or fathers of a particular age per 1,000 women or men of that age in the population. It is useful for comparing the fertility of women or men at different ages, or women or men of the same age in different populations.

Pre-term birth

Pre-term birth is a live birth occurring at 24 to 36 completed weeks of gestation.

Standardised mean age

The standardised mean (SMA) – or average – age (for example, at birth or marriage) is a measure that eliminates the impact of any changes in the distribution of the population by age and therefore enables trends over time to be analysed. Standardised means are calculated using rates per 1,000 women by single year of age of mother. More information on SMA calculation is available in our user guide to birth statistics methodology.

Stillbirth

A stillbirth is a baby born after 24 or more weeks completed gestation and that did not, at any time, breathe or show signs of life. On 1 October 1992, the Still-Birth (Definition) Act 1992 changed the legal definition of a stillbirth to 24 or more weeks completed gestation, instead of 28 or more weeks completed gestation.

Stillbirth rate

The stillbirth rate is defined as the number of stillbirths per 1,000 live births and stillbirths.

Total fertility rate

The total fertility rate (TFR) is the average number of live children a group of women would have if they experienced the age-specific fertility rates for the calendar year in question throughout their childbearing lifespan.

Measuring the data

The accompanying birth registrations dataset represents live births and stillbirths occurring in the calendar year, plus a small number of late registrations from the previous year.

Birth statistics represent births that occur and are then registered in England and Wales. Figures are derived from information recorded when live births and stillbirths are registered as part of a civil registration, which is a legal requirement. Figures include mothers and fathers whose usual residence is outside England and Wales. These data represent the most complete data source available.

The registration of births is a service carried out by the local registration service in partnership with the General Register Office (GRO) in England and Wales. The birth registration is linked to the NHS birth notification within the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This is to obtain the age of the mother where it was missing on the birth registration. It also enables the analysis of further characteristics such as birthweight, ethnicity of the baby, and gestation of live births.

Following previous procedures on birth statistics, when referencing England and Wales in this bulletin, the data in the corresponding data tables are "England, Wales and elsewhere". In this context, "elsewhere" refers to a birth to a mother whose usual residence is outside England and Wales.

Population estimates' impact on rates and timeliness

This bulletin uses our mid-year population estimates as the denominator for calculating final rates.

Final fertility rates, including the total fertility rate and age-specific fertility rates, are published in this bulletin after mid-year population estimates were made available. Counts of live births, stillbirths and maternities, stillbirth rates, and country-level provisional rates for a given year were published in May. The updated datasets are available in the Births in England and Wales related data page.

Public consultation and our data

The ONS, together with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England, the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID), and the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), conducted a public consultation into our health statistics, which closed in March 2024. 

In response, our births data are now published in three datasets:

• our Births in England and Wales: birth registrations dataset
• our Births in England and Wales: linked births dataset
• our Parents' country of birth dataset

A lookup table can be found in the Births in England and Wales: birth registration and linked births data downloads, explaining where statistics from previous editions can be found in the new table format.

The ONS, DHSC, NHS England, OHID, and UKHSA have published a full response to the consultation, summarising feedback on all proposals. Further improvements will be made in future releases.

More quality and methodology information

More quality and methodology information on strengths, limitations, appropriate uses and how the data were created is available in our Births quality and methodology information (QMI).

Our User guide to birth statistics methodology provides further information on data quality, legislation and procedures relating to births, and includes a glossary of terms.

Accredited official statistics

These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in April 2012. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled "accredited official statistics".

For more information on accredited official statistics, read the Office for Statistics Regulation's guidance.