Press Release 12/13/2012

BIRTH STATISTICS OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY (ENAC) 2ND QUARTER 2012

Births were down by 1.9% in the second quarter of 2012

Álava was the only province to see an increase in births

The number of births in the Basque Country in the second quarter of 2012 stood at 5,250, a figure 1.9% lower than that recorded in the same period of the previous year, according to Eustat data. Álava was the only province to see a rise in births, with its 855 newborns meaning an increase of 1.9%. In Bizkaia with 2,681 girls and boys the drop was 1.5% and in Gipuzkoa, with 1,714 births, the fall stood at 4.2% with regards to the second quarter of 2011.

During April, May and June 2012 births outside marriage accounted for 34.5% of the total, a greater percentage than the 32.8% recorded in the same quarter of 2011. Álava, with 35.4%, was the only province to post figures higher than the Basque Country overall. In Gipuzkoa and in Bizkaia the percentages were lower: 34.1% and 34.4% respectively.

According to the order of birth in the second quarter of 2012 more than half, 2,807, were first children; 1,997 girls and boys (38%) arrived in families that already had another son or daughter, and the percentage of third or subsequent children stood at 8.5%.

In 20% of births the mothers were over 30 years of age

Regarding the distribution of births according to age, the group of mothers between the ages of 30-34 continued to be in the majority, producing 39.8% of births. They were immediately followed by the 35-39 age group, with 33.9%. With percentages significantly lower than the previous groups was the 25-29 age group (14.2%) and the extreme age groups: the under-25s, accounting for 5.7%, and the over-40s, with 6.5% of births.

The age of maternity for single mothers was lower than that for women who had children as a whole, with 11.5% of single mothers being under the age of 25 and 18.8% between the ages of 25 and 29.

16% of mothers were foreign nationals

In 16.1% of births in the Basque Country during the spring months of 2012, the mother was a foreign national. This average was significantly higher in Álava where it stood at 22.3%, against the 15.3% in Bizkaia and the 14.2% 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.eus 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