Falling birth rate

escaped

Unless there is something wrong with the way in which news is reaching me abroad this summer, I heard that the number of births inEnglandandWalesrose last year??
According to theOffice for National Statistics(ONS), some 594,677 live births were registered in 2024, up 0.6 per cent from 591,072 in 2023.

How many births does that represent for the number of couples of reproductive age? It could be a declining percentage (sorry, I don't know).

Unless there is something wrong with the way in which news is reaching me abroad this summer, I heard that the number of births inEnglandandWalesrose last year??
According to theOffice for National Statistics(ONS), some 594,677 live births were registered in 2024, up 0.6 per cent from 591,072 in 2023.

LOUISA1523

Yes, definitely a cause for concern

Why?

The world is running out of resources. Isn't it a good thing that there might be fewer of us?

Incidentally, I was born in the mid 50s and I don't remember many families with more than two or three children.

But a demand for fewer school places costs the country less.

Many women are choosing not to have children at all these days, or they leave it very late & have just one ( possibly two )
Pretty much every woman I know ( under early 40’s ) have two children, which has been the norm for a while.
When I was growing up in the 60’s nearly every family I knew had 4 or 5 children, quite a few had 6.
It’s getting so bad primary schools are closing in some areas.

Well I've done my bit with my 4 👍
But hey, we will all be pensioners together and all put pressure on dwindling resources. Oh no 👎

Yes, definitely a cause for concern

Falling birth rate in all the developed countries is the cause of grave concern, if only to cover pensions. The number of old people/pensioners is grown as well as the fact that they live far longer than in previous years, often in very bad health. It’s a double whammy for the economy.