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Press Release 14/03/2014

BIRTH STATISTICS OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY (ENAC) 3RD QUARTER 2013

Births dropped 5.2% in the third quarter of 2013

Births outside marriage accounted for 38% of the total

In the third quarter of 2013 the number of births in the Basque Country stood at 4,969, which was a drop of 5.2% compared to the same quarter of the previous year, according to Eustat data. The province that experienced the biggest decrease was Gipuzkoa, where 1,612 boys and girls were born, down 8.7%; in Álava, with 779 births, there was a decrease of 4.2% and in Bizkaia, with 2,578 births, the drop was 3.2%.

4 out of every 5 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 38.5% of the births took place. This group was followed by the group immediately above it, mothers aged 35-39 which, with 35%, accounted for over double the number of births of the 25-29 age group, which accounted for 13.2% of births. Amongst the extreme age groups, the under- 25s accounted for 5.3%, against the over-40s, the only group to experience an increase, which accounted for 8.1%.

Births outside of marriage accounted for 38% of the total, which was higher than the 35.8% for the same period of the previous year. The average age of single mothers stood at 32.1, whereas amongst divorcees and widows, very small groups, the last consisting of just 6 women, the average age rose to 36.3 and 34.8, respectively. Lastly, in this quarter married mothers have children at 33.9 years of age, on average.

Foreign mothers are 4 years younger than those with Spanish nationality

Of the women who became mothers in the Basque Country in July, August and September 2013, 17.3% were foreign. This percentage was only higher in Álava, where it stood at 23.4%, whereas in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa the proportion of mothers with foreign nationality stood at 16.6% and 15.6%, respectively.

The age at which women became mothers varied according to their nationality. In fact, the average age of foreign mothers was 30.1, compared to 34 for mothers with Spanish nationality.

According to the order of birth, more than half (2,703 boys and girls) were first children in the summer months of 2013; 1,810 (36.4%) arrived in families that already had another son or daughter and 9.2% were third or subsequent children.

The number of first-time mothers was down 8%, and for women who had their second child this drop stood at 1.4%, and for women who had their third or subsequent child the decrease was 2.4%, all with respect to the same quarter of 2012.

Table 1. Live births to mothers residing in the Basque Country. Comparative table
Source: Eustat. Birth Statistics of the Basque Country