In 2022, parents welcomed over 605,342 new additions to the family in England and Wales according to the latest statistics available.
But in the numbers show interesting trends on both a regional and authority level. So we’ve analysed and sorted the numbers to dig into what’s really happening and cherry picked the key points you should know.
Read on to see how different regions compare to one another, which authorities saw live births increase and how regions compare to their 2021 statistics.
Note: The birth statistics for 2022 presented in this post were collected from the ONS’s latest births in England and Wales release.
Live birth statistics by region (England and Wales):
Overall, live births in England and Wales decreased from 624,729 to 605,342, a 3.1% decrease. This has been an on-going trend and picks up from the pre-COVID years as birth rates consistently decrease.
In terms of where those births are happening, we’ve ranked regions in England and Wales by live births below.
- London: 106,696
- South East: 90,589
- North West: 76,399
- East Anglia: 64,294
- West Midlands: 63,368
- Yorkshire and the Humber: 55,203
- South West: 48,947
- East Midlands: 46,849
- Wales: 28,296
- North East: 24,701
Live births by authority (top 10 by volume):
Within these regions, county councils register the most births due to their size, with 8 out of 10 of the authorities with the highest volume of live births being county councils.
- Kent: 16,364
- Essex: 15,546
- Birmingham: 14,482
- Hampshire: 12,838
- Hertfordshire: 12,449
- Lancashire: 11,754
- Surrey: 11,740
- Leeds: 8,617
- Staffordshire: 8,021
- West Sussex: 7,970
Regional live birth breakdown:
North East – 24,701 live births
The North East saw a 1.8% decrease on their statistics from 2021 (down from 25,153).
Newcastle, Stockton and Middlesbrough all saw an increase in the number of live births seen in their authorities compared to the year prior.
The biggest net increase was in Newcastle (+87), while the biggest decrease was in Gateshead (-133).
- Durham: 4,505
- Newcastle: 3,070
- Sunderland: 2,593
- Northumberland: 2,464
- Stockton-On-Tees: 1,901
- North Tyneside: 1,898
- Gateshead: 1,850
- Middlesbrough: 1,785
- South Tyneside: 1,436
- Redcar and Cleveland: 1,276
- Darlington: 1,032
- Hartlepool: 891
North West – 76,399 live births
The North West saw a decrease of 2.21% in their total live births compared to their 2021 figures (78,127).
Manchester, Bolton, Oldham, Rochdale, Warrington and Blackpool all saw increases in the number of live births in their authorities.
The biggest increase was seen in Manchester (+180), while the biggest decrease was seen in Stockport (-296).
- Lancashire: 11,754
- Manchester: 6,956
- Liverpool: 5,105
- Cumbria: 3,966
- Cheshire East: 3,717
- Bolton: 3559
- Salford: 3,557
- Wigan: 3,439
- Cheshire West and Chester: 3,219
- Oldham: 3,158
- Stockport: 2,931
- Wirral: 2,877
- Rochdale: 2,769
- Tameside: 2,488
- Sefton: 2,474
- Trafford: 2,170
- Bury: 2,008
- Knowlsey: 1,932
- Warrington: 1,914
- St Helens: 1,858
- Blackburn with Darwen: 1,856
- Blackpool: 1,499
- Halton: 1,193
Yorkshire and the Humber – 55,203 live births
The Yorkshire and the Humber saw a drop of 2.08% in their total live births compared to their 2021 figures (56,377).
Doncaster, Hull and Barnsley all saw increases in the number of live births in their authorities over the previous year.
The biggest increase in live births was seen in Hull (+30), while the biggest fall was seen in Wakefield (-211).
- Leeds: 8,617
- Bradford: 6,684
- Sheffield: 5,705
- North Yorkshire: 4,934
- Kirklees: 4,702
- Wakefield: 3,646
- Doncaster: 3,350
- Kingston Upon Hull: 3,109
- Rotherham: 2,811
- East Riding: 2,566
- Barnsley: 2,525
- Calderdale: 1,945
- York: 1,573
- North Lincolnshire: 1,549
- North East Lincolnshire: 1,487
East Midlands – 47,860 live births
The East Midlands saw a 2.11% decrease in their total live births compared to their 2021 figures (47,860).
Leicester was the only authority to have a greater number of live births within the authority compared to their 2021 value.
The biggest increase in the East Midlands was seen in Leicester (+204) while the biggest decrease was seen in Nottinghamshire (-356).
- Nottinghamshire: 7,549
- Derbyshire: 7,217
- Leicestershire: 6,603
- Lincolnshire: 6,397
- West Northamptonshire: 4,451
- Leicester: 4,376
- North Northamptonshire: 3,714
- Nottingham: 3,404
- Derby: 2,864
- Rutland: 274
West Midlands – 63,368 live births
The West Midlands saw a 0.75% decrease in their total live births compared to their 2021 figures (63,846), the lowest decrease of all the regions over that same time period.
Birmingham, Sandwell, Coventry, Dudley, Wolverhampton, Stoke and Telford all increased in birth volumes on their previous year.
The biggest increase in the West Midlands was seen in Coventry (+111), while the most significant decrease was found in Staffordshire (-259).
- Birmingham: 14,482
- Staffordshire: 8,021
- Warwickshire: 5,757
- Worcestershire: 5,334
- Sandwell: 4,330
- Coventry: 4,059
- Walsall: 3,502
- Dudley: 3,439
- Wolverhampton: 3,323
- Stoke: 3,059
- Shropshire: 2,567
- Telford: 1,991
- Solihull: 1,983
- Herefordshire: 1,521
East Anglia – 64,294 live births
East Anglia saw the second most significant decrease in birth volumes between 2021 and 2022, with a decrease of 4.12% (from 67,054).
Only Luton had a growth in the number of live births over this period, increasing by 71.
However, the district also saw the biggest fall across England and Wales in Hertfordshire, with over 1,000 less births than the year before.
- Essex: 15,546
- Hertfordshire: 12,449
- Norfolk: 7,679
- Suffolk: 6,858
- Cambridgeshire: 6,395
- Central Bedfordshire: 3,388
- Luton: 3,304
- Peterborough: 2,618
- Thurrock: 2,191
- Bedford: 1,995
- Southend: 1,871
London – 106,696 live births
The inner and outer London boroughs saw a decrease of 3.84% over their 2021 figure of 110,961.
Newham, Brent, Ealing, Barking and Dagenham, Havering and City of London all saw increases in the number of births in their district during 2022 on the year prior.
As well as managing the highest number of births in London, Newham also saw the biggest increase in live births (+252), while Hackney saw the biggest decrease (-489).
- Newham: 5,598
- Croydon: 4,872
- Barnet: 4,621
- Brent: 4,431
- Ealing: 4,427
- Redbridge: 4,243
- Tower Hamlets: 4,127
- Waltham Forest: 4,040
- Hillingdon: 4,037
- Enfield: 3,921
- Lewisham: 3,820
- Wandsworth: 3,812
- Greenwich: 3,760
- Hounslow: 3,529
- Hackney: 3,482
- Bromley: 3,431
- Southwark: 3,393
- Barking and Dagenham: 3,360
- Lambeth: 3,345
- Harrow: 3,298
- Havering: 3,089
- Haringey: 3,085
- Bexley: 2,765
- Merton: 2,497
- Islington: 2,443
- Sutton: 2,220
- Camden: 2,072
- Hammersmith and Fulham: 2,006
- Westminster: 1,967
- Richmond: 1,827
- Kingston: 1,726
- Kensington and Chelsea: 1,387
- City of London: 65
South East – 90,589 live births
The South East saw a drop of ~4,000 live births from the year prior, with an overall decrease of 3.92%.
Medway, Slough and Reading all saw live births increase in their authorities compared to the year prior.
Surrey saw the greatest decrease in the region (-711), while Slough oversaw an increase of 177.
- Kent: 16,364
- Hampshire: 12,838
- Surrey: 11,740
- West Sussex: 7,970
- Oxfordshire: 7,201
- Buckinghamshire: 5,533
- East Sussex: 4,411
- Medway: 3,293
- Milton Keynes: 3,073
- Southampton: 2,660
- Slough: 2,293
- Portsmouth: 2,140
- Brighton: 2,099
- Reading: 2,077
- Wokingham: 1,672
- West Berkshire: 1,490
- Bracknell Forest: 1,409
- Windsor and Maidenhead: 1,356
- Isle of Wight: 970
South West – 48,947 live births
The South West saw a similar drop of around 4,000 live births to their South East neighbours, but this represented a far more significant overall decrease of 6.37%, the highest of all regions.
No borough had an increase in births compared to their 2021 statistics.
Wiltshire saw the smallest decrease in live births (-90), while Devon saw a greatest decrease (-520) over the time period.
- Devon: 6,132
- Gloucestershire: 5,834
- Bristol: 5,048
- Somerset: 4,817
- Wiltshire: 4,503
- Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly: 4,456
- Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch: 3,332
- South Gloucestershire: 2,925
- Dorset: 2,615
- Plymouth: 2,409
- Swindon: 2,391
- North Somerset: 1,842
- Bath and North East Somerset: 1,633
- Torbay: 1,010
Wales – 28,296 live births
Compared to their 2021 figure, Wales saw a decrease of around 500 live births (28,781), a decrease of 1.69%.
Rhondda Cynon Taf, Newport, Caerphilly, Carmarthenshire, Neath Port Talbot, Torfaen, Conwy and Monmouthshire all saw their live birth figures grow from 2021.
Though holding the top spot in terms of the number of live births in Wales, Cardiff also saw the greatest decrease with 221 less live births than the year before. Neath Port Talbot however saw the greatest increase over the same time period, increasing by 50.
- Cardiff: 3,597
- Rhondda Cynon Taf: 2,300
- Swansea: 2,035
- Newport: 1,901
- Caerphilly: 1,620
- Carmarthenshire: 1,559
- Flintshire: 1,420
- Bridgend: 1,337
- Neath Port Talbot: 1,299
- Wrexham: 1,249
- Vale of Glamorgan: 1,204
- Gwynedd: 997
- Powys: 990
- Pembrokeshire: 980
- Torfaen: 948
- Conwy: 926
- Denbighshire: 870
- Monmouthshire: 742
- Blaenau Gwent: 670
- Merthyr Tydfil: 610
- Isle of Anglesey: 565
- Ceredigion: 477
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