Press Release 14/11/2022
BIRTH STATISTICS. II/2022
Births were down 6.3% in the second quarter of 2022 in the Basque Country
Babies born to unmarried mothers accounted for 50.1%
In the second quarter of 2022 the number of births in the Basque Country stood at 3,319, 6.3% down on the same period of the previous year, according to Eustat data, the cumulative annual decrease being 3.7%. By province, the sharpest drop was in Gipuzkoa, down 11.4%, in Bizkaia the decrease was 6.3% and, in contrast, in Álava births increased by 4.9%. In absolute figures, 1,631 boys and girls were born in Bizkaia, 1,083 in Gipuzkoa and 605 in Álava.
During April, May and June 2022 births outside marriage accounted for 50.1% of the total, a greater percentage than the 48% recorded in the same quarter of 2021. This percentage was 51.6% in Bizkaia and 50.7% in Gipuzkoa; Álava, with 45.1%, was the only province with values below the Basque Country average.
According to the order of birth in the second quarter of 2022, almost half, 1,597, were first children; 1,260 girls and boys (38%) arrived in families that already had another son or daughter, and the percentage of third or subsequent children stood at 13.9%.
The percentage of mothers over 40 exceeded 11%
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 69.2% of births. With percentages significantly lower than the previous group, was the 25-29 age group (13.4%) and the under-25s (6.1%), while the group of mothers over 40 reached 11.4%.
The age of maternity for single mothers was lower than that for mothers as a whole, with 8.8% of single mothers being under the age of 25 and 14.2% between the ages of 25 and 29. The percentage of single mothers over 40 was 11.3%
There were more mothers with foreign nationality
In 29% of births in the Basque Country during the spring months of 2022, the mother was a foreign national. In the same period of 2021 this percentage was 26.1%. By province, in Álava this figure reached 36.9%, in Gipuzkoa 29.8% and in Bizkaia 25.6%.
Live births in the Basque Country by historical territory of residence, sex, age, marital status and nationality of the mother, order and month of birth (1). 2022/II
| | Oraingo hiruhilekoa (2022/II) | Previous quarter (I/2022) | Same quarter of the previous year (II/2021) |
| | NO. | % | NO. | % | Increase | NO. | % | Increase |
| Basque Country | 3.319 | 100,0 | 3.295 | 100,0 | 0,7 | 3.541 | 100,0 | -6,3 |
| Araba / Álava | 605 | 18,2 | 544 | 16,5 | 11,2 | 577 | 16,3 | 4,9 |
| Bizkaia | 1.631 | 49,1 | 1.695 | 51,4 | -3,8 | 1.741 | 49,2 | -6,3 |
| Gipuzkoa | 1.083 | 32,6 | 1.056 | 32,0 | 2,6 | 1.223 | 34,5 | -11,4 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Sex | | | | | | | | |
| Boys | 1.725 | 52,0 | 1.679 | 51,0 | 2,7 | 1.806 | 51,0 | -4,5 |
| Girls | 1.594 | 48,0 | 1.616 | 49,0 | -1,4 | 1.735 | 49,0 | -8,1 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| AGE OF THE MOTHER | | | | | | | | |
| = 24 years | 203 | 6,1 | 240 | 7,3 | -15,4 | 223 | 6,3 | -9,0 |
| 25 - 29 years | 444 | 13,4 | 389 | 11,8 | 14,1 | 435 | 12,3 | 2,1 |
| 30 - 34 years | 1.177 | 35,5 | 1.083 | 32,9 | 8,7 | 1.250 | 35,3 | -5,8 |
| 35 - 39 years | 1.118 | 33,7 | 1.167 | 35,4 | -4,2 | 1.245 | 35,2 | -10,2 |
| = 40 years | 377 | 11,4 | 416 | 12,6 | -9,4 | 388 | 11,0 | -2,8 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Marital status of the mother | | | | | | | | |
| Married | 1.655 | 49,9 | 1.559 | 47,3 | 6,2 | 1.843 | 52,0 | -10,2 |
| Not married | 1.664 | 50,1 | 1.736 | 52,7 | -4,1 | 1.698 | 48,0 | -2,0 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Nationality of the mother | | | | | | | | |
| Spanish | 2.355 | 71,0 | 2.356 | 71,5 | 0,0 | 2.617 | 73,9 | -10,0 |
| Foreign | 964 | 29,0 | 939 | 28,5 | 2,7 | 924 | 26,1 | 4,3 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Order of birth | | | | | | | | |
| First | 1.597 | 48,1 | 1.631 | 49,5 | -2,1 | 1.717 | 48,5 | -7,0 |
| Second | 1.260 | 38,0 | 1.241 | 37,7 | 1,5 | 1.354 | 38,2 | -6,9 |
| Third or more | 462 | 13,9 | 423 | 12,8 | 9,2 | 470 | 13,3 | -1,7 |
| | | | | | | | | |
| Month of birth | | | | | | | | |
| April | 1.015 | 30,6 | | | | 1.183 | 33,4 | -14,2 |
| May | 1.146 | 34,5 | | | | 1.176 | 33,2 | -2,6 |
| June | 1.158 | 34,9 | | | | 1.182 | 33,4 | -2,0 |
(1)The data for the current and previous quarters are provisional. The variations are over the current quarter
Date November 14, 2022
Source: Eustat Birth statistics
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