The region in England and Wales where people have fewest children

Jimmy Nsubuga
Updated ·2 min read
Newborn baby holding on to Mothers hand while in hospital a few hours after being born.
The North East has the lowest total fertility rate in England and Wales. (Getty)

A new report has revealed the region in England and Wales where people have the fewest children.

The North East has the lowest total fertility rate (TFR), with 1.52 children per woman, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The TFR in England was 1.66 children per woman in 2019, a decrease of 2.4% compared with 2018, the report said.

The rate in Wales was the lowest since records began in 1982 at 1.54 children per woman, a 5.5% decrease from the previous year.

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Birthing centre. Pregnant woman during early labour at a birthing centre.
In total, there were 640,370 live births in England and Wales in 2019. (Getty)

David Corps, Vital Statistics Outputs Branch, ONS, said: “The story of births in England and Wales in 2019 is one of decreases and record lows, with the total number of births continuing the fall we've seen in recent years.

“Wales had the lowest fertility rate since our records began and England's is nearing its record low.

“For stillbirths, the rate in England continued the decline seen in recent years, reaching a record low of 3.8 stillbirths per 1,000 total births in 2019.

“To achieve the government ambition to halve stillbirth rates in England by 2025, the rate must fall to 2.6 by that year.”

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The Births in England and Wales 2019 study revealed TFR was down across all English regions compared with 2018.

But the areas with the highest and lowest TFRs remained the same as in 2018, with the East of England being the highest at 1.77 children per woman and the North East the lowest with 1.52 children per woman.

The report also revealed fertility rates for women in age groups under 30 years the lowest since records began in 1938.

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The only age group to see a jump in TFR was women aged over 40, with rates increasing to 16.5 births per 1,000 women.

The stillbirth rate for England also hit a record low to 3.8 stillbirths per 1,000 total births after falling for a third consecutive year.

But in Wales, the stillbirth rate increased from 4.4 to 4.6 stillbirths per 1,000 total births in 2019.

In total there were 640,370 live births in England and Wales in 2019, a decrease of 2.5% since 2018 and a 12.2% decrease since the most recent peak in 2012, the statistics showed.