Data for the first quarter of 2003 on Birth Statistics prepared by the EUSTAT give a figure of 4,516 births in the A.C. of the Basque Country, which represents a 5.5% increase with regard to the same period the previous year. By provinces,592 babies were born in Álava, with an average increase (5.0%), with 2,314 births in Bizkaia the percentage growth came to 3.6%, while Gipuzkoa reached a growth rate of 8.7%, with 1,610 births.

According to the order of birth, over half, 2,616 were first born in the first quarter of 2003; 1,674 (37.1%) corresponded to families which already had a child and 5% were born into families with two or more children. Bizkaia (40.8%) was the only Province were the proportion of second or subsequent born children was lower than the average for the A.C. of the Basque Country, the average being 42.1%.

Maternity age stabilizes

The distribution of births according to age continues the trend of a clear predominance by the group of mothers aged 30-34, to which almost half the births correspond. This group is followed by the next age group of 35-39 year-olds, with 25.8%, higher than the 25-29 year-olds who contribute 20.1%. Among the extreme age groups, the under 25 year-olds represent 5.6%, while the over 40 year-olds only contribute 3.3% of all births.

Births outside marriage represent 19.8% of the total, having increased almost two percent with regard to the first quarter of 2002. Gipuzkoa was the only province with higher values than the whole of the A.C. of the Basque Country (21.,1%). The maternity age for this group is lower than that of the whole of the women who gave birth, as 17.5% of unmarried mothers were aged between 15 and 24.