Press Release 08/02/2021

BIRTH STATISTICS. III/2020

The downward trend in births continued with a drop of 5.9% in the third quarter of 2020

Births outside marriage accounted for 47% of the total

In the third quarter of 2020 the number of births in the Basque Country stood at 3,874, which was a drop of 5.9% compared to the same quarter of the previous year, according to Eustat data. The province that experienced the biggest decrease was Álava, where 638 boys and girls were born, down 8.9% on the same quarter of the previous year. In Bizkaia, with 1,891 births, there was a decrease of 6.2% and finally, in Gipuzkoa, with 1,345 births, there was a drop of 4.1%.

Births outside marriage accounted for 47% of the total, higher than the 45.1% registered in the same quarter of 2019.

According to the order of birth, 1,963 boys and girls (50.7%) were first children, in the summer months of 2020; 1,402 (36.2%) arrived in families that already had another son or daughter and 13.1% 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 age group continued to be in the majority, producing 34.8% of births. They were immediately followed by the 35-39 age group, with 33.8%. The 25-29 age group accounted for 13.4% of births, and the under-25s for 6.6%. It is worth noting that mothers aged 40 or over accounted for 11.4% of births.

The average age of mothers stood at 33.4, which was similar to the same quarter of the previous year. However, for married mothers it stood at 33.8; for single mothers it was 32.8, and for divorcees it was 37.

There was a slight increase in the percentage of mothers with foreign nationality

Of the women who became mothers in the Basque Country in July, August and September 2020, 27.6% were foreign nationals, a slightly higher percentage than the 27.4% recorded for the same period of the previous year and the 27.5% for the preceding quarter. This percentage was higher in Álava, where it stood at 35.3%; in Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa the proportion of mothers with foreign nationality stood at 25.6% and 26.8%, respectively.

The age of maternity also varied according to nationality. In fact, the average age of foreign mothers was 31.2, compared to 34.3 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