The latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that almost one-third of newborns in England and Wales last year were born to mothers who were not born in the UK.

According to the ONS, the number of live births to non-UK born women increased from 179,726 in 2021 to 183,309 in 2022. In contrast, the number of live births to UK-born women decreased from 445,055 in 2021 to 422,109 in 2022.

This means that 30.3% of all live births in England and Wales in 2022 were to non-UK born women, up from 28.8% in the previous year.

India has now become the most common birth country for non-UK born mothers, replacing Romania in 2022. Additionally, Afghanistan has entered the top 10 list of most common birth countries for the first time.

The ONS data also reveals significant regional variations. In London, two-thirds of live births (66.5%) were to parents where either one or both were born outside of the UK. The borough of Brent in London had the highest percentage (82.3%) of live births to such parents, while Copeland in Cumbria had the lowest percentage (6%).

Overall, there were 605,479 live births in England and Wales in 2022, marking a 3.1% decrease from 624,828 in the previous year and the lowest number since 2002.

This data demonstrates a continuation of the long-term trend of an increasing proportion of live births to non-UK born mothers, although there was a slight dip in 2021 compared to 2020 due to a higher number of births to UK-born women in 2021.

The percentage of newborns with either one or both parents who were non-UK born increased to 35.8% in 2022 from 34.2% in 2021. In London, this percentage was even higher, reaching 66.5% in 2022. Photo by Andrés Nieto Porras from Palma de Mallorca, España, Wikimedia commons.