Rate of births in Scotland plummets to a record low
● More women having children later ● Fears over migration slowdown
The birth rate in Scotland has slumped to the lowest level on record.
There were just 12,580 births in Scotland in the final three months of last year – the lowest rate recorded for a quarter since civil registration began in 1855.
More women waiting longer to have children and uncertainty over the economy were cited as contributing towards the slowdown.
Migration minister Ben Macpherson said the figures underlined the importance of immigration to Scotland.
He reiterated that freedom of movement needed to be retained north of the Border in light of the falling birth rate.
Scotland’s birth rate has fallen to the lowest level since records began more than 150 years ago, official figures show.
A combination of more women waiting longer to have children and uncertainty over the economy are believed to be behind the slowdown.
There were 12,580 births in Scotland in the final three months of last year, according to figures released by National Records of Scotland (NRS).
This is 5.9 per cent down over the past five years and means the quarter four total has sunk to its lowest level since civil registration began in 1855.
Paul Lowe, the Registrar General for Scotland, said: “Continuing the downward trend since 2008, the number of births for the fourth quarter of 2018 has been at its lowest number recorded since civil registration began.
“This is the second recordlow number of quarterly births in a row, with quarter three also falling to its lowest level in 2018.”
The total number of quarter four births fell to a previous low of 12,785 in 2000. It then rose to 14,540 in 2008 before falling in more recent years. There were 14,484 deaths registered between October and December last year, 4.7 per cent lower than in the same period of 2017, which marked a recent peak.
The number of cancer deaths fell by 1.6 per cent to 4,264. Deaths from heart disease fell by 5.4 per cent to 1,675.
Migration minister Ben Macpherson said the figures underlined the importance of immigration to Scotland.
“These latest statistics provide more evidence of the importance of migration to Scotland and show births are at the lowest levels since records began,” he said.
“All of Scotland’s population growth over the next 25 years is projected to come
from migration.” It has been estimated if the UK Government ends free movement, Scotland’s working age population could decline by up to 5 per cent.
Mr Macpherson said: “We have been consistently clear that free movement should be allowed to continue in Scotland. The UK Government’s proposals to restrict migration do not reflect Scotland’s values or the needs of our economy, our public services and our communities.”