Scotland's falling birth rate

Scotland’s birth rate has fallen to record levels.

The National Records of Scotland (NRS) found there were 12,253 births and 13,652 deaths registered in Scotland between April 1 and 30 June 2019. Compared to the average for the same period in the previous five years, births have fallen by 9.3% and deaths have risen by 0.9%.

The number of births for that period was 5.4% lower than in the same period of 2018.

The figure represented the lowest number of births between April and June since civil registration began in 1855. Expressed as a rate, there were 9.0 births per 1,000 population, compared with 9.6 in the same quarter a year earlier and 11.4 a decade ago.

Tourism, Culture and External Affairs Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “Given our declining birth rate all of Scotland’s population growth is predicted to come from migration. However, the UK Government’s proposals to end free movement of people and limit migration presents a real risk. We need to ensure we can grow our working age population to support our economy and society now and in the future when we expect more people to live longer beyond retirement.”