HomeThemesBirthsPress releases Births were down 7.6%...

Press Release 07/02/2023

BIRTH STATISTICS. III/2022

Births were down 7.6% in the third quarter of 2022 in the Basque Country

Babies born to unmarried mothers accounted for 49.4%

In the third quarter of 2022 the number of births in the Basque Country was 3,506, 7.6% down on the same period of the previous year, the cumulative annual decrease being 4.9% according to Eustat data. By province, the biggest decrease occurred in Gipuzkoa, down 11.5%. There was a 6.9% drop in Álava and 5% fall in Bizkaia. In absolute figures, 1,774 girls and boys were born in Bizkaia, 1,169 in Gipuzkoa and 563 in Álava.

During the summer months of 2022, births outside marriage accounted for 49.4% of the total, higher than the 48.5% recorded in the same quarter of 2021. This percentage was 51.6% in Bizkaia, 47.2% in Álava and 47.1% in Gipuzkoa.

According to the order of birth, in the third quarter of 2022, almost half (1,721) were first children; 1,305 girls and boys (37.2%) arrived in families that already had another child, and the percentage of third or subsequent children reached 13.7%.

The percentage of mothers over 40 was 10.4%

Regarding the distribution of births according to age, the group of mothers between the ages of 30-39 continued to be the majority, producing 69.9% of births. The 25-29 age group (12.8%) and the under-25s (6.8%) had percentages significantly lower than the aforementioned group, while the group of mothers over 40 reached 10.4%.

The age of maternity for unmarried mothers was lower than that for mothers as a whole, with 10.1% of them under the age of 25 and 14.6% between the ages of 25 and 29. The percentage of single mothers over 40 was 10.9%.

There were more mothers with foreign nationality

During July, August and September 2022, the mother was a foreign national in 30.9% of births in the Basque Country. This percentage was 27.2% in the same period of 2021. By province, this figure reached 39.3% in Álava , 29.7% in Gipuzkoa and 29.1% in Bizkaia.

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/III

	Oraingo hiruhilekoa (2022/III)		Previous quarter (II/2022)			Same quarter of the previous year (III/2021)
	NO.	%	NO.	%	Increase	NO.	%	Increase
Basque Country	3.506	100,0	3.326	100,0	5,4	3.793	100,0	-7,6
Araba / Álava	563	16,1	605	18,2	-6,9	605	16,0	-6,9
Bizkaia	1.774	50,6	1.633	49,1	8,6	1.867	49,2	-5,0
Gipuzkoa	1.169	33,3	1.088	32,7	7,4	1.321	34,8	-11,5

Sex
Boys	1.815	51,8	1.729	52,0	5,0	1.941	51,2	-6,5
Girls	1.691	48,2	1.597	48,0	5,9	1.852	48,8	-8,7

AGE OF THE MOTHER
= 24 years	239	6,8	204	6,1	17,2	234	6,2	2,1
25 - 29 years	450	12,8	446	13,4	0,9	510	13,4	-11,8
30 - 34 years	1.225	34,9	1.177	35,4	4,1	1.324	34,9	-7,5
35 - 39 years	1.227	35,0	1.121	33,7	9,5	1.299	34,2	-5,5
= 40 years	365	10,4	378	11,4	-3,4	426	11,2	-14,3

Marital status of the mother
Married	1.773	50,6	1.654	49,7	7,2	1.954	51,5	-9,3
Not married	1.733	49,4	1.672	50,3	3,6	1.839	48,5	-5,8

Nationality of the mother
Spanish	2.422	69,1	2.361	71,0	2,6	2.761	72,8	-12,3
Foreign	1.084	30,9	965	29,0	12,3	1.032	27,2	5,0

Order of birth
First	1.721	49,1	1.595	48,0	7,9	1.864	49,1	-7,7
Second	1.305	37,2	1.264	38,0	3,2	1.415	37,3	-7,8
Third or more	480	13,7	467	14,0	2,8	514	13,6	-6,6

Month of birth
July	1.253	35,7				1.274	33,6	-1,6
August	1.177	33,6				1.283	33,8	-8,3
September	1.076	30,7				1.236	32,6	-12,9

(1)The data for the current and previous quarters are provisional. The variations are over the current quarter

Date Februay 7, 2023

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

Product data