Birth Statistics figures published by EUSTAT for the third quarter of 2003 show that there were 4,746 births in the A.C. of the Basque Country, meaning a 2.5% increase with respect to the same period of the previous year. By province, 653 children were born in Álava, a growth of 4.3%; in Bizkaia, with 2,440 births, the percentage of growth was 4.5%. On the other hand, in Gipuzkoa there was a fall of 1%, with 1,653 births.

As regards the order of births in the third quarter of 2003, more than half of the children, 2,784 were first-born; 1,653 children (34.8%) were born into families where there was already another child and 6.5% were the third or subsequent child. Bizkaia (39.6%) was the only province where the proportion of second or subsequent children was below the average of the A.C. of the Basque Country, which stands at 41.3%.

In three out of four births, the mother is over thirty years old

Regarding the distribution of births according to the age of the mother, the 30-34 age group continues to dominate, given that it accounts for almost half of all births. This group is followed by the neighbouring 35-39 age bracket with 27.2%, bettering the 25-29 age group that accounts for 17.6%. As for those groups at the far ends of the age range, 5.4% of births were to the under-25 group, while women over 40 make up 4.3%.

Births outside marriage account for 20% of the total, which means a rise of two percent in relation to the third quarter of 2002. Bizkaia, with 18.9%, was the only province with lower values than the A.C. of the Basque Country as a whole. The age of mothers in this group was less than that of mothers overall, since 17.5% of unmarried mothers were between 14 and 24 years old.