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Press Release 03/15/2013

BIRTH STATISTICS OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY (ENAC) 3RD QUARTER 2012

Births were down by 3.3% in the third quarter of 2012 in the Basque Country

Births outside marriage accounted for 35.5% of the total

In the third quarter of 2012 the number of births in the Basque Country stood at 5,171, which was a drop of 3.3% compared to the same quarter of the previous year, according to Eustat data. The province that experienced the biggest decrease was Álava, where 811 boys and girls were born, down 8.5%; in Bizkaia, with 2,652 births, there was a decrease of 0.5% and in Gipuzkoa, with 1708 births, the drop was 5%.

4 out of every 5 new mothers were over the age of 30

Referring to the distribution of births according the age of the mother, there continued to be a clear preponderance of the 30-34 year-old age group, in which 40.5% of the births took place. This group was followed by the group immediately above it, mothers aged 35-39 which, with 32.9%, accounted for over double the number of births of the 25-29 age group, which accounted for 14.1% of births. Amongst the extreme age groups, the under- 25s accounted for 5.8%, against the over-40s, the only group to experience an increase, which accounted for 6.7%.

Births outside of marriage accounted for 35.5% of the total, which was higher than the 34.6% for the same period of the year before. The average age of single mothers stood at 31.7, whereas amongst divorcees and widows, very small groups, the last consisting of just 7 women, the average age rose to 35.8 and 38, respectively. Married women had children at the age of 33.6 on average in this quarter.

Foreign women became mothers 4 years before Spanish women

Of the women who became mothers in the Basque Country in July, August and September 2012, 17.3% were foreign. This percentage was only higher in Álava, where it stood at 22.3%, whereas in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa the number of non-Spanish mothers stood at 16.4% and 16.5%, respectively.

The age at which women became mothers varied according to their nationality. In fact, the average age of foreign mothers was 29.6, compared to 33.7 for mothers with Spanish nationality.

The number of third and subsequent children increased by 21.3% in Bizkaia

According to the order of birth, more than half (2,899 boys and girls) were first children in the summer months of 2012; 1,812 (35%) arrived in families that already had another son or daughter and the percentage of third or subsequent children stood at 8.9%.

The number of first-time mothers was down by 2.4%, and for women who had their second child this drop stood at 6.7% compared to the same quarter of the previous year. However, the number of third and subsequent children was up by 5.5%, with this growth being produced in Bizkaia and Álava, with increases of 21.3% and 11.5%, against the 14% downturn in Gipuzkoa.