Press Release 09/11/2020

BIRTH STATISTICS. II/2020

The downward trend continued for births in the Basque Country with a drop of 3.9% in the second quarter of 2020

The decrease was more pronounced in Bizkaia, where it reached 6.6%, compared to -1.7% in Gipuzkoa and -0.2% in Álava

In the second quarter of 2020 the number of births in the Basque Country stood at 3,584, 3.9% down on the same period of the previous year, according to Eustat data. Births fell in all three provinces, although the drop was more pronounced in Bizkaia (-6.6%) than in Gipuzkoa (-1.7%) and in Álava (-0.2%). In absolute figures, 1,751 girls and boys were born in Bizkaia, 1,225 in Gipuzkoa, and 608 in Álava.

During April, May and June 2020 births outside marriage accounted for 46.7% of the total, a greater percentage than the 45.2% recorded in the same quarter of 2019. Bizkaia, with 50.3%, was the only province with values higher than the Basque Country average; in Gipuzkoa and in Álava the percentages were lower, 42.9% and 44.1%, respectively.

According to the order of birth in the second quarter of 2020, almost half, 1,733, were first children; 1,393 girls and boys (38.9%) arrived in families that already had another son or daughter, and the percentage of third or subsequent children stood at 12.8%.

The percentage of mothers over 40 remained at 10%

Regarding the distribution of births according to age, the group of mothers between the ages of 30-39 continued to be in the majority, producing 69.3% of births. With percentages significantly lower than the previous group, was the 25-29 age group (13.9%) and the under-25s (6.8%), while the group of mothers over 40 reached 10%.

The age of maternity for single mothers was lower than that for mothers as a whole, with 9.6% of single mothers being under the age of 25 and 17.1% between the ages of 25 and 29. The percentage of single mothers over 40 was 10.3%

Mothers with foreign nationality represented 27.3%

In 27.3% of births in the Basque Country during the spring months of 2020, the mother was a foreign national. In the same period of 2019 this percentage was 26.4%. By province, in Álava this figure reached 35.4%, in Gipuzkoa 27.2% and in Bizkaia 24.7%.

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