Press Release 18/06/2024
BIRTH STATISTICS 2023
Births in the Basque Country fell by 1.3% in 2023, down to 13,453
32.2% of mothers were foreign nationals
In 2023 the number of births in the Basque Country stood at 13,453, 1.3% down on the previous year, according to Eustat data. The decrease was 4.5% among mothers of Spanish nationality, while there was an increase of 6.1% among mothers who were foreign nationals.
Regarding distribution by province, Bizkaia registered the greatest decrease (-2.8%), followed by Álava (-2.2%) and, lastly, Gipuzkoa recorded an increase of 1.3%, such that the number of births stood at 6,671, 2,216 and 4,566 respectively.
Most months showed a decrease in the number of births, except for September, October and April, with increases in the number of births of 8.4%, 8.1% and 0.5% respectively.
Live births in the Basque Country by month of birth. 2023
| | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| | NO. | NO. | Increase % | NO. | Increase % | NO. | Increase % | NO. | Increase % |
| Total | 13.453 | 13.636 | -1,3 | 14.257 | -5,6 | 14.739 | -8,7 | 15.418 | -12,7 |
| January | 1.073 | 1.128 | -4,9 | 1.030 | 4,2 | 1.255 | -14,5 | 1.321 | -18,8 |
| February | 1.002 | 1.056 | -5,1 | 1.063 | -5,7 | 1.223 | -18,1 | 1.142 | -12,3 |
| March | 1.069 | 1.114 | -4,0 | 1.231 | -13,2 | 1.292 | -17,3 | 1.262 | -15,3 |
| April | 1.022 | 1.017 | 0,5 | 1.183 | -13,6 | 1.185 | -13,8 | 1.194 | -14,4 |
| May | 1.109 | 1.148 | -3,4 | 1.176 | -5,7 | 1.214 | -8,6 | 1.298 | -14,6 |
| June | 1.138 | 1.169 | -2,7 | 1.182 | -3,7 | 1.228 | -7,3 | 1.238 | -8,1 |
| July | 1.207 | 1.256 | -3,9 | 1.274 | -5,3 | 1.304 | -7,4 | 1.401 | -13,8 |
| August | 1.161 | 1.189 | -2,4 | 1.283 | -9,5 | 1.320 | -12,0 | 1.373 | -15,4 |
| September | 1.181 | 1.089 | 8,4 | 1.236 | -4,4 | 1.290 | -8,4 | 1.343 | -12,1 |
| October | 1.256 | 1.162 | 8,1 | 1.253 | 0,2 | 1.260 | -0,3 | 1.334 | -5,8 |
| November | 1.118 | 1.169 | -4,4 | 1.190 | -6,1 | 1.130 | -1,1 | 1.290 | -13,3 |
| December | 1.117 | 1.139 | -1,9 | 1.156 | -3,4 | 1.038 | 7,6 | 1.222 | -8,6 |
Date June 18, 2024
Source: Eustat Birth statistics
The birth rate stood at 6.1 births per thousand inhabitants. The highest rate was in Álava (6.6‰), followed by Gipuzkoa (6.3‰) and Bizkaia (5.8‰). In the Basque Country this rate was down 0.1 points compared to 2022 and 2.7 points in relation to 2013.
Live births in the Basque Country by historical territory of residence, age, marital status and nationality of the mother. 2023
| | 2023 | 2022 | Increase (%) |
| | NO. | % | NO. | % | |
| TOTAL | 13.453 | 100,0 | 13.636 | 100,0 | -1,3 |
| | | | | | |
| Province of residence of the mother | | | | | |
| Araba / Álava | 2.216 | 16,5 | 2.267 | 16,6 | -2,2 |
| Bizkaia | 6.671 | 49,6 | 6.861 | 50,3 | -2,8 |
| Gipuzkoa | 4.566 | 33,9 | 4.508 | 33,1 | 1,3 |
| | | | | | |
| AGE OF THE MOTHER | | | | | |
| <30 years | 2.813 | 20,9 | 2.707 | 19,9 | 3,9 |
| >= 30 years old | 10.640 | 79,1 | 10.929 | 80,1 | -2,6 |
| | | | | | |
| Marital status of the mother | | | | | |
| Married | 6.656 | 49,5 | 6.683 | 49,0 | -0,4 |
| Not married | 6.797 | 50,5 | 6.953 | 51,0 | -2,2 |
| | | | | | |
| Nationality of the mother | | | | | |
| Spanish | 9.125 | 67,8 | 9.557 | 70,1 | -4,5 |
| Foreign | 4.328 | 32,2 | 4.079 | 29,9 | 6,1 |
Date June 18, 2024
Source: Eustat Birth statistics
In 79.1% of births the mothers were aged 30 or over
The largest group was women between 30 and 34 years old, who accounted for 34.5% of total births. This was followed by mothers aged between 35 and 39 with 33.4%. The group of 40 years and older represented 11.2%, 0.5 percentage points higher than the previous year. 13.9% 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 1.3% of the total, one tenth higher than 2022.
The average age of all mothers was 33.4 years old, slightly lower than the previous year (33.6), but this value rose to 34.5 for mothers of Spanish nationality, and stood at 31.1 for mothers of foreign nationality. The average age for first-time mothers – those who had their first child in 2023 – was 32.4 years old, 33.6 for mothers of Spanish nationality and 29.4 for mothers of foreign nationality.
32.2% of mothers were foreign nationals
Regarding nationality, 32.2% of mothers were foreign nationals, who gave birth to 4,328 girls and boys. In 2022 the percentage of mothers who were foreign nationals was 29.9%. The main countries of origin of these mothers were: Morocco, with 724 mothers, Colombia (503), Nicaragua (290), Romania (204), Pakistan (193), Paraguay (184), Honduras (178), Algeria (171), Bolivia (160), Peru (149), Venezuela (132), Nigeria (120), Ecuador (120), Brazil (117) and Senegal (106). From the total number of mothers with foreign nationality, 48.8% were nationals of a country in America, 29.9% in Africa, and 11.4% in Europe.
Women who were foreign nationals had children at a younger age than those of Spanish nationality resident in the Basque Country: in 40.3% of cases they had children under 30, compared to 11.7% of mothers of Spanish nationality.
More than half the births were outside marriage
In 2023, the number of births outside marriage increased to 6,797, accounting for 50.5% of the total, whereas in 2022 it was 51%. Ten years ago, in 2013, the percentage of births registered outside marriage was 37.9%.
Regarding order of birth, the 6,710 first-born children in 2023 made up 49.9% of the total; second-born, 36.3%; and third-born and subsequent children, 13.8% of the total. The sex ratio among live births in 2023 was 105 boys to every 100 girls. The average weights were 3,332.4 grams for boys and 3,217.5 grams for girls.
In terms of place of birth, it is worth noting that 92.5% of births took place in public hospitals, 6.8% in private hospitals and 0.6% were home-births. The number of births rose to 13,296, of which 13,084 were single births, 211 were double deliveries and 1 was a triple birth. Of the total number of births, 796 were premature (5.9%).
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