ONS data reveals fewer births in 2025

There were fewer live births in England and Wales in 2025 compared with 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) recently published data 'Births in England and Wales: 2025 (final rates): Live births, stillbirths, maternities and fertility rates by factors including age, parents' country of birth, ethnicity, gestational age, and birthweight'.

The 'Main Points' section states that:

• "Total fertility rate (TFR) was 1.39 children per woman in England and Wales in 2025, a decrease of 0.02 from 2024; individually, England decreased from 1.42 in 2024 to 1.39 in 2025, and Wales decreased from 1.35 in 2024 to 1.33 in 2025.

The following estimates are based on data first published in our Births in England and Wales: 2025 bulletin in May 2026:

• There were 585,396 live births in England and Wales in 2025, which is 1.6% fewer than the 594,677 recorded in 2024; Wales experienced a greater decrease of 2.0%, while in England, live births decreased by 1.5%.

• Both mothers' and fathers' standardised mean age (SMA) increased by 0.1 years from 2024; mothers' SMA was 31.1 years, and fathers' SMA was 34.0 years in 2025.

• 91.0% of live births occurred between 37 and 41 weeks gestation; higher proportions of births to mothers aged 45 years and over occurred pre-term, before 37 weeks, compared with births to younger mother age groups.

• The stillbirth rate for England and Wales was 3.9 for every 1,000 births in 2025, remaining unchanged from 2024.

• India remained the most common country of birth for non-UK-born parents, having held the top position for both mothers and fathers since 2022."

To read the full data release, click here.