Press Release 12/06/2023
BIRTH STATISTICS. 2022
There were 13,636 births registered in the Basque Country in 2022, a decrease of 4.4%
This was the lowest number of births since 1975
In 2022 the number of births in the Basque Country stood at 13,636, 4.4% down on the previous year, according to Eustat data. In respect of 2019, the year before the pandemic, the decrease was 11.6% and represented the lowest number of births in the Basque Country since 1975. Among mothers of Spanish nationality the decrease was 7.9%, whilst among foreign mothers there was an increase of 5%.
Regarding distribution by province, Gipuzkoa registered the greatest decrease (-8.6%), followed by Álava (-4.3%) and, lastly, Bizkaia (-1.4%), such that the number of births stood at 4,508, 2,267 and 6,861, respectively.
By month, except January, which saw a 9.5% increase in births, in all the other months there was a decrease. This drop was especially pronounced in April and September, standing at 14% and 11.9%, respectively.
Live births in the Basque Country by month of birth. 2022
| | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| | NO. | NO. | Increase % | NO. | Increase % | NO. | Increase % |
| Total | 13.636 | 14.257 | -4,4 | 14.739 | -7,5 | 15.418 | -11,6 |
| January | 1.128 | 1.030 | 9,5 | 1.255 | -10,1 | 1.321 | -14,6 |
| February | 1.056 | 1.063 | -0,7 | 1.223 | -13,7 | 1.142 | -7,5 |
| March | 1.114 | 1.231 | -9,5 | 1.292 | -13,8 | 1.262 | -11,7 |
| April | 1.017 | 1.183 | -14,0 | 1.185 | -14,2 | 1.194 | -14,8 |
| May | 1.148 | 1.176 | -2,4 | 1.214 | -5,4 | 1.298 | -11,6 |
| June | 1.169 | 1.182 | -1,1 | 1.228 | -4,8 | 1.238 | -5,6 |
| July | 1.256 | 1.274 | -1,4 | 1.304 | -3,7 | 1.401 | -10,3 |
| August | 1.189 | 1.283 | -7,3 | 1.320 | -9,9 | 1.373 | -13,4 |
| September | 1.089 | 1.236 | -11,9 | 1.290 | -15,6 | 1.343 | -18,9 |
| October | 1.162 | 1.253 | -7,3 | 1.260 | -7,8 | 1.334 | -12,9 |
| November | 1.169 | 1.190 | -1,8 | 1.130 | 3,5 | 1.290 | -9,4 |
| December | 1.139 | 1.156 | -1,5 | 1.038 | 9,7 | 1.222 | -6,8 |
Date June 12, 2023
Source: Eustat Birth statistics
The birth rate stood at 6.2 births per thousand inhabitants. The highest rate was in Álava (6.8‰), followed by Gipuzkoa (6.3‰) and Bizkaia (6‰). In the Basque Country this rate was down 0.3 points compared to 2020 and 3.2 points since 2012. These are the lowest birth rates since 1975 both in the Basque Country and the three provinces.
Live births in the Basque Country by province, age, marital status and nationality of the mother. 2022
| | 2022 | 2021 | Increase (%) |
| | NO. | % | NO. | % | |
| TOTAL | 13.636 | 100,0 | 14.257 | 100,0 | -4,4 |
| | | | | | |
| Province of residence of the mother | | | | | |
| Araba / Álava | 2.267 | 16,6 | 2.368 | 16,6 | -4,3 |
| Bizkaia | 6.861 | 50,3 | 6.957 | 48,8 | -1,4 |
| Gipuzkoa | 4.508 | 33,1 | 4.932 | 34,6 | -8,6 |
| | | | | | |
| AGE OF THE MOTHER | | | | | |
| <30 years | 2.707 | 19,9 | 2.758 | 19,3 | -1,8 |
| >= 30 years old | 10.929 | 80,1 | 11.499 | 80,7 | -5,0 |
| | | | | | |
| Marital status of the mother | | | | | |
| Married | 6.683 | 49,0 | 7.283 | 51,1 | -8,2 |
| Not married | 6.953 | 51,0 | 6.974 | 48,9 | -0,3 |
| | | | | | |
| Nationality of the mother | | | | | |
| Spanish | 9.557 | 70,1 | 10.374 | 72,8 | -7,9 |
| Foreign | 4.079 | 29,9 | 3.883 | 27,2 | 5,0 |
Date June 12, 2023
Source: Eustat Birth statistics
In 80.1% of births the mothers were aged 30 or over
The largest group was women between 35 and 39 years old, who accounted for 34.5% of total births. This was followed by mothers aged between 30 and 34 with 33.9%. The group of 40 years and older represented 11.7%, 0.7 percentage points higher than the previous year. 12.9% of babies were born to mothers aged between 25 and 29, and 5.8% to mothers aged between 20 and 24. Finally, teenage mothers accounted for 1.2% of the total, one tenth up on 2021.
The average age of all mothers was 33.6, slightly higher than the previous year (33.5), but this value rose to 34.6, for Spanish mothers, and stood at 31.1 for mothers of foreign nationality. The average age for first-time mothers – those who had their first child in 2022 – was 32.6.
29.9% of mothers were foreign nationals
Regarding nationality, 29.9% of mothers were foreign nationals, who gave birth to 4,079 girls and boys. In 2021, the percentage of foreign mothers was 27.2%, down 2.7 percentage points on 2022. The main countries of origin of these mothers were: Morocco (756 mothers), Colombia (409), Nicaragua (292), Romania (226), Pakistan (198), Bolivia (179), Paraguay (174), Honduras (163), Algeria (128), Nigeria (128), Venezuela (122) and Ecuador (101).
Foreign mothers had children at a younger age than those of Spanish nationality resident in the Basque Country: in 39.6% of cases they had children under 30 years of age, compared to 11.4% of mothers of Spanish nationality.
The percentage of births outside marriage continued to increase
In 2022, the number of births outside marriage increased to 6,953, accounting for 51% of the total, whereas in 2021 it was 48.9%. Ten years ago, in 2012, the percentage of births outside marriage was 35.9%.
Regarding order of birth, the 6,716 first-born children in 2022 made up 49.3% of the total; second-born, 37.1%; and third-born and subsequent children, 13.6% of the total. The sex ratio among live births in 2022 was 106 boys to every 100 girls. The average weights were 3,333 grams for boys and 3,205.3 grams for girls.
In terms of place of birth, it is worth noting that 90.9% of births took place in public hospitals, 8.5% in private hospitals and 0.6% were home-births. The number of births rose to 13,476, of which 13,250 were single and 226 twin births. Of the total number of births, 744 were premature (5.5%).
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