Press Release 13/09/2021

BIRTH STATISTICS. I/2021

Births were down 12.5% in the first quarter of 2021 in the Basque Country

By month, of particular note was the drop of 18.1% in January

In the first quarter of 2021 the number of births in the Basque Country stood at 3,298, which was a drop of 12.5% compared to the same quarter of the previous year, according to Eustat data. The number of births fell in the three provinces: they were down 14.7% in Bizkaia, 11,6% in Gipuzkoa and 7.7% in Álava. Specifically, 1,612 children were born in Bizkaia, 1,133 were born in Gipuzkoa and 553 in Álava.

By month, the decrease in respect of 2020 was particularly pronounced in January, 18.1%, being 13.7% in February and 6% in March.

According to the age of the mother, the group of mothers aged 30-34 moved into first position, producing 36.5% of births. Next, was the 35-39 age group, producing 34.7% of births, followed by the 25-29 age group, although the latter only produced 13.2% of births.

In respect of the same quarter of 2020, the number of women who became mothers aged 40 or over decreased, going from 406 in 2020 to 323 in 2021. Births by these women made up 9.8% of the total (10.8% in 2020), exceeding the 5.9% of births by mothers younger than 25. The age of maternity for single mothers was lower than that for women who had children as a whole, with a notable 9.1% of single mothers being under 25.

Births outside marriage accounted for 48.9% of the total, a figure higher than that for the first quarter of 2020 (44.7%). Bizkaia and Álava posted higher figures than the Basque Country as a whole, of 52.8% and 49.9%, respectively, whereas in Gipuzkoa this percentage was lower, 42.9%.

According to the order of birth, in the first quarter of 2021 48.5% of births, 1,599 children, were first-born; 1,291 (39.1%) arrived in families that already had another child, and the percentage of third or subsequent children stood at 12.4%, 0.8 points below the same quarter of 2020.

The percentage of mothers with foreign nationality decreased

In 25.7% of births in the Basque Country during the first three months of 2021, the mother was a foreign national, a percentage 3.1 percentage points lower than in the first quarter of 2020. The reduction in the number of mothers from this collective reached 22% between the two periods, whereas for those with Spanish nationality it was 8.6%. In Álava the proportion of mothers with foreign nationality stood at 30.6%, compared to 25.3% in Bizkaia and 23.7% in Gipuzkoa.

Births among mothers with Latin American nationalities had the most weight among foreign mothers, but their number, 380 births, fell by 25.8% between the first quarter of 2020 and this quarter. The second group with most weight was that of mothers with African nationalities, with 252 births, which fell by 18.4% between the two periods.

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