Global uncertainty is leading some people to have no or fewer children. Births in England and Wales fell for the fourth consecutive year in 2025 to the lowest level in nearly half a century. Live births reached 585,000, the lowest since 1977, and the estimated number of children per woman fell to just under 1.4 in 2025 from 1.9 in 2010. Women are having their first child later, averaging 29.6 years old in 2025, about two years older than in 2010. Births involving at least one parent born outside the UK rose to 40% from 30% over the same period. Rising cost of living also makes having a larger family harder.
"“It’s just not a very nice world to bring people into, and why would I consciously do that when I can choose not to?” Stacey Waring, 40, a nurse from Nottingham, says global uncertainty has made her think twice about starting a family. She is one of an increasing number of people having either no or fewer children, contributing to a national and global picture of falling birth rates."
"“If I think of the childhood that I had, I was one of the last generations to grow up playing outside without a mobile phone, and it’s very different now,” she adds. But she says she feels lucky to live at a time when people have more choice about whether to start a family. “If I’d had children, I’d have had to reduce my hours at work,” she says. “I’m a huge traveller and go away whenever I can in my camper van, which I wouldn’t be able to do if I had children.”"
"In 2025, births in England and Wales fell for the fourth year in a row to their lowest level in nearly half a century, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). There were 585,000 live births in 2025, a fall of 10,000 on the year before and the lowest overall figure since 1977. The estimated number of children born per woman fell to just under 1.4 for England and Wales in 2025, down from 1.9 in 2010."
"Women are also having their first child later than ever before, at an average age of 29.6 years old. That is about two years older than in 2010 when the most recent decline in fertility rates started. Births where at least one of the parents was born outside of the UK increased to 40%, up from 30% over the same timeframe. Georgina Tuffour Georgina Tuffour, 35, would love to have a larger family but says that the rising cost of living makes that difficult."
Read at www.bbc.com
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