Key Summary
- Births rose to 594,677 in 2024, with a 14 per cent rise in fathers aged 60+
- More births to women aged 35–39; sharp drop among under-20s
- India remained the top country of birth for non-UK parents
England and Wales witnessed the highest number of births in a year since 2021 due to in part a rise of 14.2 per cent in the number of fathers over 6o years of age.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) stated that there were 594,677 births in 2024, which is 0.6 per cent higher than the previous year.
They reported a “notable increase” in children being born to fathers aged 60 and over, rising from 942 in 2023 to 1,076 in 2024.
West Midlands showed the new increase of 3.4 per cent in births pausing the long-time decline. London also showed a rise of 1.8 per cent.
On the other hand, other regions showed a fall in numbers like a 1.4 per cent in the north-east.
Women between the ages 35 to 39 years showed an increase in births by 2.7 per cent, whilst the biggest decrease was 4.6 per cent in for women aged under 20.
Education secretary Bridget Phillipson on Monday, advised Britons to think about having more children in order to prevent the fall in fertility rates.
Statistics also show that 39.5 per cent of live births that took place in England last year had either one or both the parents born outside the UK.
India is the top country of birth for non-UK born mothers and fathers for the third year in a row.
"If government is serious about supporting people to have babies, they must create the right conditions for families to thrive,” said Angella McConville, chief executive at childbirth charity NCT.
"That means access to safe, personalised maternity and postnatal care for everyone, as well as affordable childcare and action on the cost of living," she added.
