Press Release 13/06/2022
BIRTH STATISTICS. 2021
Births in the Basque Country fell by 3.3% in 2021
The greatest decreases occurred in the first months of 2021
In 2021 the number of births in the Basque Country stood at 14,257, down 3.3% on the previous year, according to Eustat data. Among mothers of Spanish nationality the decrease was 1.5%, whilst among foreign mothers births decreased by 7.7%.
Regarding the distribution by province, Bizkaia registered the greatest decrease (-4.9%), followed by Gipuzkoa (-1.8%) and, lastly, Álava (-1.2%), with the number of births standing at 6,957, 4,932 and 2,368, respectively.
By months, it is worth nothing that the drop in births was particularly pronounced in January and February, with decreases of 17.9% and 13.1%, respectively, compared with data from the previous year. In contrast, at the end of the year, November and December saw an increase, calculated at 5.3% and 11.4%.
Live births in the Basque Country by month of birth. 2021
| | 2021 | 2020 | Increase (%) |
| Total | 14.257 | 14.739 | -3,3 |
| January | 1.030 | 1.255 | -17,9 |
| February | 1.063 | 1.223 | -13,1 |
| March | 1.231 | 1.292 | -4,7 |
| April | 1.183 | 1.185 | -0,2 |
| May | 1.176 | 1.214 | -3,1 |
| June | 1.182 | 1.228 | -3,7 |
| July | 1.274 | 1.304 | -2,3 |
| August | 1.283 | 1.320 | -2,8 |
| September | 1.236 | 1.290 | -4,2 |
| October | 1.253 | 1.260 | -0,6 |
| November | 1.190 | 1.130 | 5,3 |
| December | 1.156 | 1.038 | 11,4 |
Date June 13, 2022
Source: Eustat Birth statistics
The birth rate stood at 6.5 births per thousand inhabitants. The highest rate was in Álava (7.2‰), followed by Gipuzkoa (6.9‰) and Bizkaia (6.1‰). In the Basque Country this rate was down 0.2 points compared to 2020 and 3.2 points since 2011.
Live births in the Basque Country by province, age, marital status and nationality of the mother. 2021
| | 2021 | 2020 | Increase (%) |
| | NO. | % | NO. | % | |
| Basque Country | 14.257 | 100,0 | 14.739 | 100,0 | -3,3 |
| Araba / Álava | 2.368 | 16,6 | 2.397 | 16,3 | -1,2 |
| Bizkaia | 6.957 | 48,8 | 7.318 | 49,7 | -4,9 |
| Gipuzkoa | 4.932 | 34,6 | 5.024 | 34,1 | -1,8 |
| | | | | | |
| AGE OF THE MOTHER | | | | | |
| <30 years | 2.758 | 19,3 | 3.027 | 20,5 | -8,9 |
| >= 30 years old | 11.499 | 80,7 | 11.712 | 79,5 | -1,8 |
| | | | | | |
| Marital status of the mother | | | | | |
| Married | 7.283 | 51,1 | 7.825 | 53,1 | -6,9 |
| Not married | 6.974 | 48,9 | 6.914 | 46,9 | 0,9 |
| | | | | | |
| Nationality of the mother | | | | | |
| Spanish | 10.374 | 72,8 | 10.532 | 71,5 | -1,5 |
| Foreign | 3.883 | 27,2 | 4.207 | 28,5 | -7,7 |
Date June 13, 2022
Source: Eustat Birth statistics
In 80.7% of births the mothers were aged 30 or over
The largest group was women between 30 and 34 years old, who account for 35.2% of total births. This was followed by mothers aged between 35 and 39 with 34.5%. The group of mothers aged 40 or over remained above 10% (11%), similar to the previous year. 13.3% of babies were born to mothers aged between 25 and 29, and 4.9% to mothers aged between 20 and 24. Finally, teenage mothers accounted for 1.1% of the total, the same as the previous year.
27.2% of mothers were foreign nationals
Regarding nationality, 27.2% of mothers were foreign nationals, who gave birth to 3,883 girls and boys. In 2020 the percentage of foreign mothers was 28.5%. The main countries of origin of these mothers were: Morocco, with 758 mothers, Colombia (325), Nicaragua (261), Romania (259), Honduras (157), Paraguay (152), Bolivia (131), Nigeria (131), Pakistan (128), Venezuela (126), Algeria (123) and Brazil (102).
Foreign mothers had children at a younger age than those of Spanish nationality resident in the Basque Country: in 37.9% of cases they had children under 30 years of age, compared to 12.4% of mothers of Spanish nationality.
The average age of all mothers was 33.5, slightly higher than the previous year (33.4), but this value rose to 34.4, for Spanish mothers, and stood at 31.2 for mothers of foreign nationality. The average age for first-time mothers – those who had their first child in 2021 – was 32.6.
The percentage of births outside marriage continued to increase
In 2021, the number of births outside marriage increased to 6,974, accounting for 48.9% of the total, whereas in 2020 it was 46.9%. Ten years ago, in 2011, the percentage of births registered outside marriage was 34.3%.
Regarding the order of birth, the 6,978 first-born children in 2021 made up 48.9% of the total; second-borns, 37.6%; and third-borns and subsequent children, 13.4% of the total. The sex ratio among live births in 2021 was 108 boys to every 100 girls. The average weights were 3,347.7 grams for boys and 3,235.2 grams for girls.
In terms of place of birth, it is worth noting that 89.3% of births took place in public hospitals, 10% in private hospitals and 0.7% were home-births. The number of births rose to 14,113, of which 13,917 were single, 195 twin and 1 triplet. Out of all births, 726 were premature (5.1%).
For further information:
Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tel.: 945 01 75 62