The Independent prioritizes on-the-ground reporting across major issues and funds journalism through reader donations while refusing to implement paywalls. The total fertility rate in England and Wales dropped to 1.41 in 2024, down from 1.42 in 2023 and marking the lowest level since records began in 1938. Births barely outpaced deaths, and natural population growth has declined for years with death rates projected to overtake births from 2030. Net migration offset population decline, yielding roughly 706,000 population growth to mid-2024. Total births rose slightly from 591,072 to 594,677, but fertility rates still fell. Regional variation is large, from Luton (2.0) to the City of London (0.32), with all areas below replacement.
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The total fertility rate defined as the average number of children women would expect to have across their childbearing life stood at 1.41 in 2024, down from 1.42 in 2023 and the lowest levels since records began nearly a century ago in 1938. Natural population growth has been in decline for years, with death rates expected to overtake births from 2030.
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