Conception rate in England and Wales by age 2021

In England and Wales in 2021, the conception rate among women aged between 30 and 34 years was approximately 116.2 per 1,000 women, meaning this age group had the highest rate of conceptions that year. Slightly lower was the rate of conceptions among 25 to 29-year-old's at 113.6 conceptions per 1,000 women, while there were 78.9 conceptions per 1,000 women aged between 20 and 24 years of age.

Trends in teenage conceptions

The rate of teenage pregnancies has declined sharply in the last ten years. In 2008, the conception rate among teenagers was approximately 60 per 1,000, by 2021 this rate has dropped to 26.1 as displayed above. While the number of teenage pregnancies has dropped in England and Wales, the share of pregnant teenagers getting abortions has increased. The share of teenage conceptions ending in abortion increased from 40.1 percent in 2004 to 51.6 percent in 2021. Additionally, teenagers are the most likely age group in England and Wales to go through with an abortion after a pregnancy.

Birth rate trends in the UK

In 2021, the birth rate in the UK was 10.4 births per 1,000 population, which, with the exception of 2020, was the lowest birth rate in the country since the start of the provided time period in 1938. The average age at which a mother gives birth in the UK has also increased alongside the drop in birth rate. In 2000, the average age of a mother giving birth in the UK was 28.5, by 2021 it was 30.9 year's old. Furthermore, there were just 41 live births per women aged 22 in 2022, compared with 71 live births for 22-year-olds in 2002, and 86 live births for women aged 22 in 1992.

Conception rate in England and Wales from 1990 to 2021, by age group (rate per 1,000 women)

Characteristic	Under 16	Under 18	Under 20	20-24	25-29	30-34	35-39	Over 40
1990	9.5	47.7	68	124	138	89.7	33.6	6.6
1991	8.9	44.6	64.1	120.2	135.1	90.1	34.4	6.6
1992	8.4	43.5	61.9	113.9	132	90.1	35.2	6.9
1993	8.1	42.4	59.7	110.5	131.7	92.5	36.6	7.4
1994	8.3	41.9	58.7	107.3	128.3	92.1	37.6	7.6
1995	8.6	41.9	58.7	105.8	124.8	92.8	38.1	7.9
1996	9.5	46.3	63.2	110.1	127.6	96.3	40.7	8.4
1997	8.9	45.9	62.6	107.2	124.7	96.2	41.4	8.7
1998	9	47.1	65.1	107.7	122.2	96.8	42.4	8.9
1999	8.3	45.1	63.1	103.9	118	95.3	42.9	9.1
2000	8.3	43.9	62.5	103.2	115.7	95.3	43.2	9.4
2001	8	42.7	60.8	102.5	114.2	96.7	44.3	9.6
2002	7.9	43	60.6	103.7	118.6	101.6	47	10.3
2003	8	42.3	59.9	106	121.3	105.9	49.1	10.7
2004	7.5	41.8	60.4	107.5	123.7	109.2	51	11.3
2005	7.8	41.6	60.2	107	123.4	111.1	53.1	11.5
2006	7.7	40.8	60.2	107.9	126.1	116	56	12.2
2007	8.1	41.6	61.4	110.3	128.7	119.3	57.8	12.6
2008	7.6	39.9	59.5	108.2	127	118.2	57.5	12.6
2009	7.2	37.2	56.2	108.4	127.8	121	59.3	12.8
2010	6.8	34.3	52.9	108.8	129.3	123.4	61.5	13.4
2011	6.1	30.9	48.9	106.1	129.3	124.9	62.8	13.9
2012	5.6	27.9	44.2	100.3	127.3	122	63.4	14
2013	4.9	24.5	40.5	96	126.7	121.6	64.5	14.2
2014	4.4	22.9	37.9	92.8	126.8	122.9	66	14.5
2015	3.8	21	36.2	90.4	127.1	124.9	68.3	15.1
2016	3.1	18.9	34.3	87.8	124.5	123.4	67.9	15.4
2017	2.7	17.9	33	85.7	120.6	121.9	67	15.8
2018	2.5	16.8	32.1	84	118.8	121.6	66	16.3
2019	2.5	15.8	30.5	81.2	116.2	119.4	65.2	16.7
2020	2.1	13.1	26.3	77.8	115.5	123.9	66.7	17.1
2021	2.1	13.2	26.1	78.9	113.6	116.2	65.1	17.3

Loading statistic...

Download

Source

Show detailed source information?

Already a member?

Source

Use Ask Statista Research Service

Release date

March 2023

More information

Region

United Kingdom (England, Wales)

Survey time period

1990 to 2021

Supplementary notes

This statistic is using original data from the Office for National Statistics and includes copyright material from © Crown, licensed under the Open Government License v3.0.

Citation formats