Soaring immigration sparks British baby boom as London becomes the birth-rate capital of Europe
11-05-2014
- Number of babies being born in the EU has dropped since the financial crash
- But the UK has bucked the trend, with soaring birth rates in London
- British women are having two babies each on average - more than rest of EU
By Tom McTague, Deputy Political Editor for MailOnline
Soaring immigration has sparked a baby boom in Britain outstripping almost every other country in Europe, official figures have revealed.
Across the EU, the number of babies being born has dropped since the financial crash – sparking falls in population in some countries.
But the UK has bucked the trend, with soaring birth rates in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds contributing to a boom in the number babies being born.
Women in outer London have more babies than anywhere else in the country - or even Europe - official figures revealed today
British women are having two babies each on average – higher than anywhere else in Europe, apart from France and Ireland.
Overall, London is now seeing more babies born per 1,000 of the population anywhere in Europe, according to the EU’s official statistics body.
Across the EU, there were 10.4 babies born per 1,000 people. But in the capital, the birth rate has hit 17.7.
At least 14 births per 1,000 population were recorded in the west Midlands, Greater Manchester and West Yorkshire as well – a rate only matched in Brussels and Paris.
The UK, Germany and Austria were the only countries in Europe to report an increase in their birth rates from 2009 to 2012. Almost every other country in Europe saw the number of babies fall.
The figures were buried in the EU Commission’s annual statistics release.
The official figures exposed the impact of mass migration into the UK over the past decade.
Immigrants moving to Britain are often in the key child-bearing ages, contributing to the spike in babies born across the country.
Sir Andrew Green, the chairman of Migration Watch UK, which campaigns for low immigration, said: ‘This is yet another example of the impact of mass immigration on our society.’
The EU, meanwhile, said more babies were being born in countries where the family is ‘relatively weak’.
Official figures released by the EU today show Britain is in the midst of a baby boom. In this map the darker the colour the higher the birth rate
More babies are being born per thousand of the population in London than anywhere else in Europe
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It said fertility rates were higher in countries where there is a ‘low proportion of people being married and a high proportion of births outside marriage’.
It added that ‘couple instability’ and high divorce rates also contributed.
Fertility rates were lower than 1.5 live births per woman in 13 – the lowest rate being recorded in Portugal — one of the countries most severely hit by the financial and economic crisis — at 1.28 live births per woman.