Press Release 19/02/2018
Births dropped 7.4% in the third quarter of 2017
23% of mothers were foreign nationals
In the third quarter of 2017 the number of births in the Basque Country stood at 4,422, which was a drop of 7.4% compared to the same quarter of the previous year, according to Eustat data. The province that experienced the biggest decrease was Gipuzkoa, where 1,449 boys and girls were born, down 12.4% on the same quarter of the previous year. In Bizkaia, with 2,204 births, there was a decrease of 5.1% and finally, in Álava, with 769 births, there was a drop of 3.4%.
8 out of every 10 mothers were over the age of 30
Regarding the distribution of births according the age of the mother, there continued to be a preponderance of the 30-34 year-old age group, in which 37.9% of the births took place. This group was followed by the group immediately above it, mothers aged 35-39 which, with 32.8%, accounted for over double the number of births of the 25-29 age group, which accounted for 14% of births. Amongst the groups at the two extremes, those under the age of 25 accounted for 5.4% of births, just over half that of those over 40, who accounted for 9.9%.
Births outside of marriage accounted for 42% of the total, which was slightly lower than the 43.1% for the same period of the previous year. The average age of mothers stood at 33.4: for married mothers it stood at 33.8; for single mothers it was 32.6, and for divorcees it was 36.6 in this quarter.
Half of the births were first children
Of the women who became mothers in the Basque Country in July, August and September 2017, 22.9% were foreign nationals. This percentage was only higher in Álava, where it stood at 31.9%, whereas in Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia the proportion of mothers with foreign nationality stood at 22% and 20.4%, respectively.
The age at which women became mothers varied according to their nationality. In fact, the average age of foreign mothers was 30.9, compared to 34.1 for mothers with Spanish nationality.
According to the order of birth, more than half (2,224 boys and girls) were first children in the summer months of 2017; 1,695 (38.3%) arrived in families that already had another son or daughter and 11.4% were third or subsequent children.
The number of first-time mothers was down 9.6%, and there was also a decrease in the number of women who had their second child (-6%), and those who had their third or subsequent child (-1.4%), all with respect to the same quarter of 2016.
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