The number of live births in London has dropped to its lowest level in 15 years, new figures show.
Data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS( shows that 104,252 babies were born in the capital last year, a drop of 2,444 on the previous year and the lowest figure since 2008.
The overall fertility rate in the capital dropped from 1.39 to 1.35 in the same period. To maintain a stable population without significant immigration, a country should have a fertility rate of above 2.1.
Islington (1.01) had the lowest fertility rate of any borough in London, followed by Southwark (1.06) and Hammersmith and Fulham (1.06).
The national rate was down from an average of 1.49 children per woman over their lifetime in 2022, and has decreased most among women aged 20 to 24 – down 79 per cent from 181.6 live births per 1,000 women of this age group in 1964 to 38.6 in 2023.
The average age of mothers remained stable at 30.9, while fathers’ average age increased slightly from 33.7 in 2022 to 33.8 last year.
The biggest drops in the overall total fertility rate were in Wales (1.46 to 1.39) and the north west of England (1.53 to 1.46).
The North East (1.47 to 1.43) and the West Midlands (1.62 to 1.58) saw the smallest decreases.
The fertility rate is defined as the average number of live children a group of women would have if they experienced the age-specific fertility rates throughout their childbearing life.
In 2023, the number of live births (591,072) in England and Wales fell to the lowest since 1977 when there were 569,259.
The data, which also covers stillbirth rates, said those fell in Wales from a rate of 4.4 per 1,000 births in 2022 to 4.0, and stayed the same in England at 3.9 stillbirths per 1,000 births.
Stillbirth rates decreased in the black, mixed or multiple, and white ethnic groups for England and Wales compared with 2022, but rates rose in the Asian and “any other” ethnic groups, the ONS said.
Stillbirth rates overall remain higher for Asian, black, and “any other” ethnic groups than the England and Wales overall rate, the statistics body added.
Greg Ceely, head of population health monitoring at the ONS, said: “The annual number of births in England and Wales continues its recent decline, with 2023 recording the lowest number of live births seen since 1977.
“Total fertility rates declined in 2023, a trend we have seen since 2010. Looking in more detail at fertility rates among women of different ages, the decline in fertility rates has been the most dramatic in the 20-24 and 25-29 age groups.”
