Press Release 10/02/2020

BIRTH STATISTICS. III/2019

Births dropped 4.7% in the third quarter of 2019 in the Basque Country

Births outside marriage accounted for 45% of the total

In the third quarter of 2019 the number of births in the Basque Country stood at 4,078, which was a drop of 4.7% compared to the same quarter of the previous year, according to Eustat data. The province that experienced the biggest decrease was Gipuzkoa, where 1,370 boys and girls were born, down 5.7% on the same quarter of the previous year. In Bizkaia, with 2,008 births, there was a decrease of 5% and finally, in Álava, with 700 births, there was a drop of 1.5%.

Births outside of marriage accounted for 45% of the total, which was half a percentage point higher than the 44.5% for the same period of the previous year.

According to the order of birth, 2,082 boys and girls (51.1%) were first children, in the summer months of 2019; 1,482 (36.3%) arrived in families that already had another son or daughter and 12.6% were third or subsequent children.

8 out of every 10 mothers were over the age of 30

Regarding the distribution of births according to the age of the mother, the 30-34 year-old age group continued to be in the majority, producing 36.9% of births. They were immediately followed by the 35-39 age group, with 32.7%. The 25-29 age group accounted for 13.1% of births, and the under-25s for 7.6%. It is worth noting that those aged 40 or over accounted for 9.8% of births.

The average age of mothers stood at 33.2, which was similar to the same quarter of the previous year. However, for married mothers it stood at 33.6; for single mothers it was 32.4, and for divorcees it was 37.3.

The percentage of mothers with foreign nationality increased

Of the women who became mothers in the Basque Country in July, August and September 2019, 27.3% were foreign nationals, a percentage which is higher than the 25.8% recorded for the same period of the previous year. This percentage was higher in Álava and Gipuzkoa, reaching 34.1% and 27.5% respectively. In Bizkaia, the proportion of mothers with foreign nationality stood at 24.7%.

The age at which women became mothers varied according to their nationality. In fact, the average age of foreign mothers was 30.6, compared to 34.1 for mothers with Spanish nationality.

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