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Why aren’t people in Britain having more babies?
The total fertility rate for England and Wales – defined as the number of children a woman can expect to have over her lifetime – has fallen to another record low of 1.41 in 2024.
It’s the third year in a row the rate has fallen, and the biggest decline in fertility is among those aged between 25 and 29, increasing the average age of parents to 31 for mothers and 33.9 for fathers.
The figures come just a day after Scotland’s total fertility rate was also confirmed to have dropped to a new record low, falling from 1.27 in 2023 to 1.25 in 2024.
On today’s Sky News Daily, Gareth Barlow is joined by leading demographer Paul Morland to discuss why people in Britain are having fewer children on average, and what could be done to reverse the trend.
Producer: Araminta Parker and Emily Hulme
Editor: Mike Bovill