Birth Statistics figures, published by EUSTAT for the second quarter of 2005, put the number of births in the A.C. of the Basque Country at 4,939, practically the same figure as that registered for the same period of last year. By province, 726 children were born in Álava, 2,507 in Bizkaia and 1,706 in Gipuzkoa.

As regards the order of birth, over half, 2,797 children, were the first-born in the second quarter of 2005; 1,850 children (37.5%) were born into families where there was already one other child and 5.9% were the third or subsequent child. Bizkaia (41.2 %) was the only Province where the proportion of second or subsequent children was below the average for the A.C. of the Basque Country, which stood at 43.4%. Álava and Gipuzkoa, on the other hand, surpassed this percentage, which came to 45.5% and 45.7% respectively.

In three out of four births the mother was aged over 30

As for the distribution of births according to the age of the mother, the group of mothers aged 30-34 remained by far the most numerous, accounting for almost half the number of births. This group was followed by the one immediately above, those aged 35-39, with 26.3%, outnumbering the 25-29 age bracket, which contributed 18.2%. In the groups at either end of the age range, those aged under 25 accounted for 5.6%, while those aged over 40 were responsible for a mere 3.7% of births.

Children born outside of marriage made up 21.9% of the total, an increase of almost one point with regard to the second quarter of 2004. Gipuzkoa, with 22.3%, was the only province where the rate was above that of the A.C. of the Basque Country as a whole. In Álava, the percentage was the same as the overall one for the A.C. of the Basque Country and in Bizkaia it was slightly lower (21.6%). The maternity age of this group was lower than that of mothers who had already had children, given that 18.2% of unmarried mothers were aged between 14 and 24.