The fertility rate in England and Wales has fallen to the lowest level in recorded amid the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, at 1.58 children per woman last year.
In 2020, the British fertility rate fell by 4.2 per cent from 2019 and was 3.1 per cent lower than the previous low in 2001, according to official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Fertility rates are determined by calculating the average number of children a woman gives birth to in her lifetime. In order to naturally maintain a country’s population, a fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman is thought to be required.
The ONS report found that in 2020, there were 613,936 live births in England and Wales, a decline of 4.1 per cent over the previous year, despite people being confined to …