The decline in the birth rate continues unstoppable. Between January and March, 78,534 babies were born in Spain, a figure that represents 1.7% less than in the same period last year and a loss of more than 10% compared to those born in the first three months of 2019, the year prior to the pandemic.
In this general panorama of decline in the number of births, one territory stands out, Aragon, which is the only autonomous community where more children are still being born than before the pandemic. The 2,337 babies delivered in the first three months of the year are 2.6% more than those born in that period of 2019, and 8% more than last year.
Two other autonomies that escape the general trend and this year have seen the number of births increase are La Rioja -where up to March 3.4% more babies have been born than in 2022- and Madrid, which has registered a slight increase of 1 ,3%. However, in both cases the number of babies born between January and March of this year is significantly lower than that recorded in that period of 2019.
If the analysis is extended province by province, the one that has proportionally increased the number of newborns this 2023 has been Soria, almost 17% compared to last year, although fewer children are still being born than in 2019. On the other hand, Zaragoza, Lugo and Huesca now register more births than then.
The monthly estimate of births from the INE also reveals an increase in early maternity: the only age ranges of the mother in which the number of babies increases compared to a year ago is that of those under 15 and between 20 and 24 years. And the number of births stabilizes between 25 and 29. But that is the x-ray at the state level.
If one observes what is happening in large cities like Madrid and Barcelona, it is striking that what is growing the most is late motherhood. Specifically, the number of babies born to mothers aged 50 or over between January and March in Barcelona is 31% higher than the figure for the previous year, and 64% higher than the figure for the same period in 2019. In the case of Madrid, births in this age group grow 23% compared to the first three months of 2022 and 10% compared to the year prior to the pandemic.
However, there are a very clear minority who are mothers at these ages: in Barcelona, 13 births have been recorded in this age group up to March (representing 0.13% of the total), and in Madrid 12, 0.09%. of the total.
In both cities, women in their thirties are the ones who procreate the most: 63% and 64% of births correspond to mothers between 30 and 39 years of age, although this year births in the group of women between 20 and 24 years old (4% in Barcelona and 11% in Madrid).
