Listeners:
Top listeners:
Rother Radio (128K) Love Local, Love Music!
Rother Radio (64K) Love Local, Love Music!
Rother Radio (Doncaster) (128K) Love Local, Love Music!
Rother Radio Xmas Love Local, Love Music!
Rother Radio – Special Announcement Love Local, Love Music!
While fertility rates across the two nations have been in overall decline since 2010, the rate in 2023 fell to 1.44 children per woman, which the Office for National Statistics said is the lowest value since records began in 1938. The 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% 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). London (1.39 to 1.35), 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. The Sands charity said the data shows “progress is not being made to reduce the stillbirth rate in England” and “unacceptable inequalities in baby loss also persist”, with the stillbirth rate in England and Wales among black babies still almost twice that of white babies, at 6.3 stillbirths per 1,000 total births compared with 3.4. 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.” Luton in Bedfordshire had the highest fertility rate in 2023 among local authorities in England (2.01), followed by Barking & Dagenham in London (2.00), Slough in Berkshire (1.93) and Pendle in Lancashire (1.90). The City of London had the lowest rate (0.55), followed by Cambridge (0.91), Brighton & Hove in East Sussex (0.98) and Westminster in London (1.00). A total of 12 of the 25 local authorities with the lowest rates in 2023 were in London. In Wales, Newport had the highest fertility rate last year (1.63) and Cardiff had the lowest (1.16).
Published: by Radio NewsHub
Written by: Radio News Hub
Now playing:
Join Billy for the Afternoon Show, every weekday from 2pm as he plays the best variety of hits across South Yorkshire.
closeRother Radio – Love Local, Love Music! → Discover more
Rother Radio is owned by Rotherham Broadcasting CIC
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". |
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional | 11 months | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". |
cookielawinfo-checbox-others | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". |
viewed_cookie_policy | 11 months | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |