Births in England and Wales have fallen to their lowest half-year total since 1977, with 287,236 babies recorded in the first six months of 2026.
Office for National Statistics figures show the number was 2,406 lower than during the same period last year and around a fifth below the 360,256 births recorded in the first half of 2012.
The figures have prompted warnings that Britain’s falling birth rate could pose a long-term threat to prosperity, as couples face financial pressures and increasingly delay having children.
The ONS previously recorded 585,395 births across the whole of 2025, the lowest annual total since 1977. The fertility rate in England and Wales also fell to a record low of 1.39 children per woman, down from 1.41 in 2024.
Women would need to have an average of 2.1 children for the population to remain stable. The average age of mothers rose by a tenth of a year last year to 31.1, while the average age of fathers reached 34.
The Resolution Foundation said population growth in England and Wales was now “set to come from international net migration”.
Former Conservative MP Miriam Cates, who has campaigned on Britain’s falling birth rate, described the latest figures as “hugely concerning”.
“Britain’s birth rate decline shows no sign of reversing,” she said. “The consequences of decades of below-replacement birth rates are already being felt, with a record tax burden on working-age people, shortages of workers in key industries and an unfunded pensions bill.”
She added: “Today’s figures guarantee that the problem will be even worse in 18 or 20 years’ time, when the number of young people entering the workforce is likely to be the lowest ever recorded.
“Politicians need to wake up to this issue; falling birth rates are the biggest long-term threat to Britain’s prosperity.”
Dr Harry Benson, of the Marriage Foundation, said housing and financial pressures were factors but argued that people were also postponing commitment.
“Compared with the 1970s, women are having their first child around five years later,” he said. “We have become very good at living for today and much less good at planning for tomorrow.”
