Press Release 18/11/2019

BIRTH STATISTICS. II/2019

Births in the Basque Country fell by 6.1% in the second quarter of 2019

Babies born to unmarried mothers accounted for 45.2%

The number of births in the Basque Country in the second quarter of 2019 stood at 3,699, a figure 6.1% lower than that recorded in the same period of the previous year, according to Eustat data. Births fell in all three provinces, although to different extents: there was a sharper drop in Gipuzkoa (-7.5%) than in Álava (-5.8%) and in Bizkaia (-5.3%). In figures, 1,234 girls and boys were born in Gipuzkoa, 597 in Álava, and 1,868 in Bizkaia.

During April, May and June 2019 births outside marriage accounted for 45.2% of the total, a greater percentage than the 43.2% recorded in the same quarter of 2018. Gipuzkoa, with 42.5%, was the only province with values lower than the average of the Basque Country as a whole; in Bizkaia and Álava the percentages were higher, 46.9% and 45.6%, respectively.

According to the order of birth in the second quarter of 2019, almost half, 1,784, were first children; 1,480 girls and boys (40%) arrived in families that already had another son or daughter, and the percentage of third or subsequent children stood at 11.8%.

In 7 out of every 10 births the mothers were aged between 30 and 40

Regarding the distribution of births according to age, the group of mothers between the ages of 30-39 was in the majority, producing 70.6% of births. With percentages significantly lower than the previous group, were the 25-29 age group with 12.5% and the under-25s with 7.3%, while the group of mothers over 40 reached 9.6%.

The age of maternity for single mothers was lower than that for mothers as a whole, with 11.5% of single mothers being under the age of 25 and 14.5% between the ages of 25 and 29.

The percentage of mothers with foreign nationality increased

In 26.2% of births in the Basque Country during the spring months of 2019, the mother was a foreign national. In the same period of 2018 this percentage was 25.1%. By province, in Álava this figure reached 31.7%, in Bizkaia 24.7% and in Gipuzkoa 25.9%.

For further information:

Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Press service: servicioprensa@eustat.es Tel: 945 01 75 62