New figures released by the UK’s Office for National Statistics
show that 24% of babies born in the UK last year (2011) were born to
women who were born outside the UK.
The ONS said that ‘the increase in the proportion of foreign births
to non-UK born mothers living in the UK illustrates how the demographic
make-up of the UK is changing.’ It added that understanding the
patterns of childbearing among migrant populations was ‘essential for
planning services such as maternity provision and schools’.
The
figures show that in London, where most immigrants live, 57% of children
were born to non-UK born mothers. The five countries from where the
most mothers came were
• Poland, (from where 23,000 mothers came)
• Pakistan (19,000)
• India (15,500)
• Bangladesh (8,500)
• Nigeria (8,000)
• Germany (7,000 – though these were predominantly born in Germany to UK service personal stationed in military bases there)
The
ONS found that the number of births to UK born mothers remained
virtually static between 2007 and 2011. In 2007, there were 603,000
births to UK-born mothers compared to 612,000 in 2011.
However,
the number of children born to non-UK born mothers rose by 16% from
169,000 to 196,000. Part of this is explained by the numbers of UK-born
and non-UK born women living in the UK. Between 2007 and 2011 there has
been a 24% rise in the number of women of child-bearing age living in
the UK whereas the number of such UK born women has actually fallen by
5%.
The survey found that fertility rates are much higher among
non-UK born than among UK-born populations. The general fertility rate
measures the annual number of live births per 1,000 women of
childbearing age (often taken to be from 15 to 49 years old. That figure
is 60 for UK born women. The figure is nearly 150 for Pakistani-born
women and nearly 140 for Nigerian born women. For Bangladeshi-born women
the figure is around 110, for Indian-born women around 95 and for
Polish-born women around 90.
The survey found that, on average, foreign born mothers have 2.28 children each while UK born mothers have only 1.89 children.
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