Press release 21/12/2011
Births increased by 0.5% in the 2nd Quarter of 2011
Bizkaia is the only province where births experienced an increase
The number of births in the Basque Country stood at 5290 million in the third quarter of 2011, 0.5% up on the previous year, according to Eustat data. The increase can be attributed to Bizkaia, the only province where births rose, with 2716 newborns accounting for a 5.1% increase. In Álava, with 838 girls and boys, there was a decrease was 4.3%, whereas in Gipuzkoa, with 1736 births, the number dropped by 3.6% with respect to the 2nd quarter of 2010.
Births outside of marriage accounted for 32.6% of the total, a percentage similar to the 32.5% registered in the 2nd quarter of 2010. Gipuzkoa, with 30.1%, was the only province where the numbers were lower than those for the Basque Country as a whole. Álava and Bizkaia recorded higher percentages: 35.1% and 33.5%, respectively.
By order of birth, more than half (2829) were first-born children in the 2nd quarter of 2011; 2025 boys and girls (38.3%) were born into families that already had a child, and the percentage of births with two or more children was 8.2%. Bizkaia, at 44.1%, was the only province where the ratio of two or more children was lower than the Basque Country average (46.5%). Gipuzkoa exceeds the average by 48.7% and Álava recorded the highest percentage at 49.6%.
In 21% of births, the mothers were under 30 years of age
Within the distribution of births by the age of the mother, there continued to be a clear preponderance of the 30-34 year-old age group, in which 42.2% of the births took place. This group was followed by the group immediately above it (mothers aged 35-39), which accounted for 31.5% of births and was ahead of the 25-29 age group, with 15.3% of births. In the groups at the two extremes, the under 25 year-old age group accounted for 5.5%, whilst those over 40 accounted for 5.4%.
The age of single mothers was lower than the age of the group of women who had children as a whole, with 12% of single mothers being under 25 and 19% between 25 and 29 years of age.
16% of the mothers are foreign citizens
16.1% percent of all the births in the Basque Country in the spring of 2011 were to mothers who were foreign citizens. The average was far exceeded in Álava, which recorded 22.8% compared to 15.4% in Bizkaia and 13.9% in Gipuzkoa.
For further information:
Basque Statistics Office
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Tel: +34-945-01 75 00 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 E-mail: eustat@eustat.es
Contact: Martín González Hernández
Tel:+34-945-01 75 49 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01
Further press releases on BIRTH STATISTICS of the Basque Country
Database on BIRTH STATISTICS of the Basque Country