In 2006, births from unmarried parents amounted to 4,958, according to data elaborated by Eustat, the Basque Statistics Office. This amount represents 24.7% of the total of births and was above that of 2005 (23.2%). Alava and Bizkaia had percentages above the joint percentage of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, with 25.7% and 25.1% respectively, whereas Gipuzkoa was the only territory with smaller relative values (23.9%). The proportion of births from unmarried parents, which in 1990 amounted to 7.7%, has triplicated over the last seventeen years.

In 2006, births in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country amounted to 20,043, which meant a 1.7% increase with respect to 2005; this increase was above that experienced between 2004 and 2005, which amounted to 0.6%. In Alava, in 2006, was where the highest increase (4.5%) took place, followed by Gipuzkoa (3.5%), whereas in Bizkaia had registered an 0.3% decrease.

The birth rate reached 9.5 per thousand inhabitants, very far from the 20 per thousand registered in the 1960s. The highest figure was registered in Gipuzkoa (10.4‰), followed by Alava (9,8‰) and by Bizkaia (8,8‰).

The strong decreasing tendency in births initiated in 1976 slowed down as from the late 1980s and reached its lowest point in 1994. The figures from 2006 consolidated the birth rate upward trend initiated in 1995.

76.5% of women who had children in 2006 were aged 30 or over. The most numerous group corresponded to women between 30 and 34 years of age, representing 45.4% of the total of births. On the other hand, there is a slight increase with respect to 2005 of the group of mothers above 35 years of age (31.1%), that is, still amply above that of mothers aged 25 to 29 (17.6%). The average age of mothers was 32.3 years, whereas for first-time mothers the average age was 31.1 years. These figures were similar to those corresponding to 2005.

Over the last decade, the mother age group below 30 has become smaller. The age group between 25 and 29 years of age does so in a higher proportion (7.6%). On the other hand, there is an increase of over 10% for the group of mothers aged 35 or above.

As refers to the order of births, first children represented 57.5% of the total in 2006, a similar proportion to that of the previous year. On the other hand, the children and above constituted 6,7%, only 0.5% above the proportion attained in 2005.

The amount of births reached 19,669, of which 19,205 were singled births, 454 double births and 10 triple births.

The proportion of the sexes in 2006 was 106 boys for every 100 girls. In average, boys weighed 3,297 grams and girls 3,194 grams.

Table 1: Children born alive in 2006 per Historical Territory of residence of the mother