Birth Statistics. 2023. Provisional data
In 2023, there were 54,182 live births in Catalonia according to provisional data from the Birth Statistics, a figure that represents a decrease of 3.9% in relation to the definitive birth data for 2022.
By territorial areas, the number of births in 2023 only grew in L'Alt Pirineu and Aran (7.4%). The Central Counties area (−8.8%) recorded the greatest decrease, followed by the Ponent area (−4.8%), the Metropolitan Area (−4.4%), Les Terres de l'Ebre (−4.1%) and, to a lesser extent, El Camp de Tarragona (−1.8%), the Girona Counties (−1.6%) and El Penedès (−1.5%).
As for the counties, the number of births decreased in 28 counties in 2023, with the largest decreases recorded in La Segarra (−20.1%, affected by territorial changes), L'Urgell (−17.9%) and El Bages (−14.1%). In contrast, El Pallars Jussà was the county that recorded the highest increase (14.9%) followed by La Cerdanya (11.7%) and Aran (10.7%).
The crude birth rate was 6.8 live births per 1,000 inhabitants in 2023, lower than in 2022 (7.2‰). On the other hand, the short-term fertility rate stood at 1.10 children per woman (1.17 children in 2022 and below the 1995 low of 1.14 children). The median age at childbearing stayed at 32.6 years and the average age at the birth of the first child was 31.7 years.
The crude birth rate by areas of the Territorial Plan ranged from a high of 7.2 births per 1,000 inhabitants in the Girona Counties to a low of 5.9‰ in L'Alt Pirineu and Aran. By counties, the highest was recorded in El Gironès (8.2‰) and the lowest in L'Alta Ribagorça (4.5‰).
As for the nationality of the mothers 35,408 of the live births in 2023 were born to Spanish mothers, representing a decrease of 2,551 live births with respect to the previous year (−6.7%), and 18,774 were born to foreign mothers, representing an increase of 351 over the previous year (1.9%). In relative terms, babies born to foreign mothers accounted for 34.6% of live births.
Among babies born to foreign mothers, the highest frequency was for children born to Moroccan mothers (4,560 live births), which represents 8.4% of the total number of births in Catalonia and 24.3% of births to foreign mothers, followed in decreasing order by children born to Pakistani (1,334), Colombian (1,157), Honduran (961) and Romanian (883) mothers.
By territorial areas, 40.7% of live births in the Ponent area and 39.2% of live births in the Girona Counties were children of foreign mothers at percentages considerably higher than the Catalan average (34.6%). By counties, the highest percentages of babies born to foreign mothers were in La Segarra (53.2%), followed by El Pla d’Urgell and La Garrotxa (45.7% and 44.7%, respectively).