The fertility rate in the UK fell to 1.44 children per woman last year, which is the lowest since records began in 1938.

The measure reflects the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime and should be at least 2.1 for a population to naturally sustain itself. The Irish fertility rate is around 1.5.
Greg Ceely, from the Office for National Statistics, says the decline is “most dramatic” among women in their twenties.

Research from the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies found that factors dissuading ‘Millennials’ from having children included not feeling ready, financial pressures and not finding the right partner. The cost-of-living crisis and high housing costs in Britain have also been cited as barriers to having children.

Paul Morland, 59, a demographer and author of the book ‘No One Left: Why the World Needs More Children’, said he expected the UK’s fertility rate to drop further. He said it could even plunge to levels seen in South Korea, which has a 0.78 fertility rate.

Morland said: “I think the Generation Zs, who are coming into the childbearing cohort, are very non-natal. Having children is a very low priority for them”.