An Oxford expert has said people are "actively postponing or forgoing children" as the total fertility rate across England dropped to a new record low last year.

While fertility rates across England and Wales have been in overall decline since 2010, the rate in 2023 fell to 1.44 children per woman, which the Office for National Statistics said is the lowest value since records began in 1938.

The rate was down from an average of 1.49 children per woman over their lifetime in 2022, and has decreased most among women aged 20 to 24 – down 79 per cent from 181.6 live births per 1,000 women of this age group in 1964 to 38.6 in 2023.

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The fertility rate is defined as the average number of live children a group of women would have if they experienced the age-specific fertility rates throughout their childbearing life.

Professor Melinda Mills, professor of demography and population health at the University of Oxford, said: “People are actively postponing or forgoing children due to issues related to difficulties in finding a partner, housing, economic uncertainty, remaining longer in education and particularly women entering and staying in the labour force.

“Some individuals also actively make the choice to remain childfree.

“However, there is evidence that postponing having children to later ages when the partners are less able to conceive results in increases in involuntarily childlessness as well.”

The average age of mothers remained stable at 30.9, while fathers’ average age increased slightly from 33.7 in 2022 to 33.8 last year.

In 2023, the number of live births (591,072) in England and Wales fell to the lowest since 1977 when there were 569,259.

The data, which also covers stillbirth rates, said those stayed the same in England at 3.9 stillbirths per 1,000 births.

Stillbirth rates decreased in the black, mixed or multiple, and white ethnic groups for England and Wales compared with 2022, but rates rose in the Asian and “any other” ethnic groups, the ONS said.

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Stillbirth rates overall remain higher for Asian, black, and “any other” ethnic groups than the England and Wales overall rate, the statistics body added.

The Sands charity said the data shows “progress is not being made to reduce the stillbirth rate in England” and “unacceptable inequalities in baby loss also persist”.

Greg Ceely, head of population health monitoring at the ONS, said: “The annual number of births in England and Wales continues its recent decline, with 2023 recording the lowest number of live births seen since 1977.

“Total fertility rates declined in 2023, a trend we have seen since 2010. Looking in more detail at fertility rates among women of different ages, the decline in fertility rates has been the most dramatic in the 20-24 and 25-29 age groups.”