Press Release 28/11/2014

BIRTH STATISTICS OF THE BASQUE COUNTRY (ENAC) II/2014

Births in the Basque Country rose by 0.8% in the second quarter of 2014

Babies born to unmarried mothers account for 38.5%

The number of births in the Basque Country in the second quarter of 2014 stood at 4,885, a figure 0.8% higher than that recorded in the same period of the previous year, according to Eustat data. The number of births increased in two of the three provinces, Álava and Bizkaia, by an identical percentage (+3.4%), whilst in Gipuzkoa it dropped by 4.5%. Specifically, in Álava 823 girls and boys were born, 2,527 were born in Bizkaia and 1,535 in Gipuzkoa.

During April, May and June 2014 births outside marriage accounted for 38.5% of the total, a greater percentage than the 37.2% recorded in the same quarter of 2013. Bizkaia, with 39.2%, was the only province to post a figure higher than the Basque Country overall. In Álava and in Gipuzkoa the percentages were lower: 37.5 and 37.8%, respectively.

According to the order of birth in the second quarter of 2014 more than half, 2,508, were first children; 1,922 girls and boys (39.3%) arrived in families that already had another son or daughter, and the percentage of third or subsequent children stood at 9.3%.

Only in 20% of births the mothers were under 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 39.1% of births. They were immediately followed by the 35-39 age group, with 33.5%. With percentages significantly lower than the previous groups was the 25 to 29 age group (14%) and the extreme age groups: the under-25s, accounting for 5.8%, and the over-40s, with 7.6% of births.

The age of maternity for single mothers was lower than that for women who had children as a whole, with 10.8% of single mothers being under the age of 25 and 17.9% between the ages of 25 and 29.

17.6% of mothers were foreign nationals

In 17.6% of births in the Basque Country during the spring months of 2014, the mother was a foreign national. This average was significantly higher in Álava where it stood at 24.9%, against the 15.5% in Bizkaia and the 17% in Gipuzkoa.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Instituto Vasco de Estadística C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tlf: 945 01 75 62 Further press releases on BIRTH STATISTICS of the Basque Country Database on BIRTH STATISTICS of the Basque Country