The British fertility rate fell to its lowest level on record in 2024 after falling for three straight years as the native public continues to delay or refrain from having children.
Figures released on Wednesday from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) found that the total fertility rate (TFR) stood at 1.41 children per woman in 2024 for England and Wales.
This was compared to 1.42 in 2023, the third such year of decline, and represented the lowest level recorded by the government since it began tracking such statistics in 1938. For context, a fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman is needed to maintain replacement levels.
It came as the average age of mothers and fathers continued to rise, with the average age of a mother rising from 30.9 years old in 2023 to 31.0 in 2024. Meanwhile the average age of fathers rose from 33.8 in 2023 to 33.9 in 2024.
This continued the trend seen over the past two decades of people putting off having children. For comparison, in 2004, the average age of mothers was 29 years old and 32.1 years old for fathers.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the business hub of London had the highest average age of parents last year, with a collective average of 32.5, more than 1.2 years higher than the next highest recorded region in Britain.
Adding to the trend, the fertility rates of mothers aged between 25 and 29 saw the steepest decline, while increasing for those between the ages of 30 and 39.
The decline in birth rate came despite the actual numbers of births rising last year by 0.6 per cent, with population growth — almost entirely as a result of mass migration — outpacing the number of births.
The head of population health monitoring at the ONS, Greg Ceely, said: “Fertility rates in England and Wales have been in overall decline since 2010. The total number of births increased last year, for the first time since 2021; but this was offset by population growth. As a result, fertility rates fell overall, and are now at the lowest rates on record.”
Society Tomorrow: Growing Older in 21st Century Britain Ian Pearson told The Guardian that the disparity between declining fertility rates and the growing number of births was also likely influenced by younger migrant groups having larger families while the aging native population is becoming more reticent to have large families.
“Internationally, the UK is following the same trajectory as most wealthy countries: fertility peaks at lower levels of development, then declines as education, prosperity and women’s autonomy rise. Unless childcare, housing and long-term stability are addressed, we should expect the fertility rate to remain low or even fall further, rather than bounce back,” he said.
In conjunction with the imposition of mass migration on the country — despite voters consistently voting for the opposite — the trend of higher birth rates among migrant groups is driving significant demographic changes in Britain.
According to a report in June from Professor Matt Goodwin, the number of people with two British parents will fall from 73 per cent of the population now to becoming a minority in their own homeland by the year 2063 if current trends continue. The social scientist went on to predict that the demographic displacement would continue to rise and that by the end of the century, just over one fifth of the country would be white Britons.
Follow Kurt Zindulka on X: Follow @KurtZindulka or e-mail to: [email protected]
Read the full article here