More British Women Opting for Childless Families

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, June 29, 2002

More British Women Opting for Childless Families

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The number of 40-year-old women without children in Britain is now double what it was 20 years ago, while the number of women with larger families has been halved over the same period, according to the latest official figures.

Figures released on Friday by the Office for National Statistics showed that one in five women over 40 years old have not had a baby, and those with families have far fewer children.

A spokeswoman for the Family Planning Association told BBC News Online that the figures reflect changes in British society.

"Individuals have more options in their lives than ever before, and the social trends are clear - women are choosing to have fewer children, have them later in life, or remain child free - but we make those choices in a social and economic context," she said

The average birth rate is just 1.64 now, the lowest level recorded since statistics were first collected in 1924.

On the basis of this report, the population will fall as deaths outpace births, suggesting that Britain will have to look toward immigration if the overall population is to grow.

According to the report, two out of three women born in the 1970s have yet to bear children. Half the women born in the early 1960s however had given birth to a child by the time they were 25.

Women are also older now when they give birth. In 2001, the average age of new mothers was 29 years old. This compares to an average age of 26 in 1972.

Women are also opting for smaller families. Among current 40- year-olds, just one in 10 has four or more children. Twenty years ago, that figure was one in five.

The report also shows two out of every five births are now outside marriage - up one third in 10 years. In 1977, just one in 10 babies was born outside marriage.

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