More deaths than births took place in the UK last year for the first time in nearly half a century, figures confirm.
A total of 689,629 deaths were registered in 2020, while 683,191 live births were recorded. Aside from Covid, during 2020, births declined sharply while there was a rise in the number of abortions.
This means that natural change in the UK – the difference between births and deaths – was a negative figure of 6,438.
It is the first time deaths have exceeded births since 1976, according to provisional figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
It is also only the second time this has happened since the start of the 20th century.
