2 days ago
Fathers over 60 help bump up the birthrate for first time in years
The first rise in births since 2021 has been helped by a 'notable' jump in the number of babies born to fathers over the age of 60, according to the Office for National Statistics, and a third of births in England and Wales last year were to mothers born overseas.
Some 33.9 per cent of children born in 2024 were born to mothers who were born outside the UK, the highest proportion since records began in 2001, when the figure was 17 per cent. India remained the most common country of birth for foreign-born mothers, having overtaken Romania in 2022. Pakistan, Nigeria and Bangladesh were also in the top ten, along with Iraq, Poland, Ghana, Afghanistan and Albania.
The figures show how reliant Britain is on foreign-born nationals, as well as the changing face of immigration since Brexit.
