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Coverage

England and Wales

Units

Live births

Contact details for this dataset

Nomis
Telephone: +44(0) 191 3342680

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This dataset provides statistics on birth rates and the standardised mean age of mother for live births in England and Wales. Further https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths[birth statistics] are available on the Office for National Statistics website.

Important information for interpreting these birth statistics:

  • birth statistics represent births that occurred in England and Wales in the calendar year, but include a very small number of late registrations from the previous year
  • figures are compiled from information supplied when births are registered as part of civil registration, a legal requirement. Our https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/methodologies/birthsqmi[Birth Statistics Quality and Methodology Information] contains important information on:

  • the strengths and limitations of the data and how it compares with related data

  • uses and users of the data
  • how the output was created
  • the quality of the output including the accuracy of the data Our https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/methodologies/userguidetobirthstatistics[User Guide to Birth Statistics] provides further information on data quality, legislation and procedures relating to births and includes a glossary of terms. Information about how rates are calculated is also included.

For more information on birth statistics and feedback on this dataset please contact

Office for National Statistics email: health.data@ons.gov.uk telephone: +44(0)1329 444110

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About the variables

measure (14 categories)

Rates based on low numbers will be less reliable and should be interpreted with caution.

  • The Crude birth rate is the number of live births per 1,000 population of all ages.
  • The General Fertility Rate (GFR) is the number of live births per 1,000 female population aged 15 to 44, calculated using mid-year population estimates.
  • The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is the average number of live children that a group of women would bear if they experienced the age-specific fertility rates of the calendar year in question throughout their childbearing lifespan. The national TFRs have been calculated using mid-year population estimates by single year of age. The sub-national TFRs have been calculated using mid-year population estimates by 5 year age group.
  • Age-specific fertility rates (ASFRs) are a measure of fertility specific to the age of the mother. They are calculated by dividing the number of live births to mothers of each age group by the number of females in the population of that age and then expressed per 1,000 women in the age group. The rates for women of all ages‚ under 18‚ under 20 and 45 and over have been calculated using mid-year population estimates for the female population aged 15 to 44‚ 15 to 17‚ 15 to 19 and 45 to 49 respectively.
  • The mean (average) age of mother has been standardised to eliminate the impact of changes in the distribution of the population by age, enabling analysis of trends over time. The figure is therefore calculated using fertility rates per 1,000 female population by single year of age.

Our https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/livebirths/methodologies/userguidetobirthstatistics[User Guide to Birth Statistics] provides more detailed information about how rates are calculated.

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Release calendar

Release DateStatusReference Period
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17 May 24Released2022
22 Sep 22Released2021
14 Oct 21Released2020
22 Jul 20Released2019
1 Aug 19Released2018
18 Jul 18Released2017

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