Pregnancy, births and maternity: fertility rates
Fertility rates
In 2021, there were 47,786 live births recorded across Scotland (Source: NRS, 2021).
The fertility rate continues to fall:
Between 1971 and 2021 the fertility rate fell from 86 to 46 live births per 1,000 women of child-bearing age. (Source: NRS, 2021).
Women are increasingly having children later:
In 2000, the highest fertility rate was for women aged 25-29 years old
By 2021, the highest fertility rate was in women aged 30-34 years old (Source: NRS, 2021).
Women aged 30 years and over accounted for over half (59%) of all births in 2021 and 4% were to mothers aged 40 years and over (Source: NRS Births Time Series Data).
Pregnancies in young women continue to fall:
The fertility rate of women under 20 years of age:
48 per 1,000 in 1971,
29 per 1,000 in 2000,
8 per 1,000 in 2021.
(Source: NRS, 2021).
Please note: If you require the most up-to-date data available, please check the data sources directly as new data may have been published since these data pages were last updated. Although we endeavour to ensure that the data pages are kept up-to-date, there may be a time lag between new data being published and the relevant ScotPHO web pages being updated.
