See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred SourceBy DAVID CHURCHILL Published: 12:00 BST, 27 May 2026 | Updated: 12:28 BST, 27 May 2026
Births plunged to their lowest in half a century last year while foreign-born parents accounted for a record four in ten, official figures show.There were 585,396 live births in England and Wales last year - down from 594,677 the year before and the lowest since 1976 (584,270). It was also the fourth lowest in 100 years, today's figures revealed.Meanwhile, in a sign of how diverse Britain’s population has become, the data showed 40 per cent of births (235,273) in 2025 were to parents where one or both were foreign-born.This is the highest proportion since 2008, when the Office for National Statistics started calculating the proportion of foreign-born parents.In a dozen areas across England and Wales, more than three-quarters of births were to parents where at least one was foreign-born. This was also the case for over half of births in more than 50 areas.The London borough of Brent recorded the largest proportion (84 per cent) of births where at least one parent was foreign born (3,748 of 4,456).Outside of the capital, Slough in Berkshire recorded the highest rate (79.2 per cent) followed by Luton (78.1 per cent).
