Births to Foreign Mothers in UK Soars 65% in Six Years
By Daily Mail Reporter

The Bith of Muslim Children in the UK Soars 65% in Six Years

The number of births in the UK to foreign-born mothers rose by 65 per cent between 2001 and 2007, official figures reveal.

The report by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the increase - well above the 6.4 per cent jump recorded among British-born women - was largely a result of a rise in the proportion of foreign-born women in the UK.

The increase in births means more than one in five children born in Britain in 2007 had a mother born overseas.

Meanwhile, the study also showed that the highest proportion of births to foreign-born women in 2007 were in the London boroughs of Newham (74.8 per cent) and Brent (72 per cent).

The 14-page ONS report said rising fertility rates among UK-born women had been the largest single factor increasing the overall number of births since 2004.

Official figures show that the number of births in the UK increased each year between 2001 and 2007, a time which saw the proportion of foreign-born women in the childbearing population increase to 14 per cent.

The report stated: 'The rise in the overall total fertility rate is mainly due to increasing fertility among UK-born women, since fertility among foreign born women has remained relatively stable since 2004.

'However, foreign-born women, who generally have higher fertility, are making up an increasing share of the population, which is also acting to push the overall total fertility rate upwards.

'A consequence of these changes is that two-thirds of the total increase in births between 2001 and 2007 can be attributed to women born outside the UK.

'This has resulted in an increase in the proportion of births to foreign-born women, from 15.3 per cent in 2001 to 21.9 per cent in 2007.'

The report added: 'Between 2001 and 2007 the number of births to foreign-born women living in the UK increased by 65 per cent. Over the same period births to UK-born women increased by only 6.4 per cent.'

But the report said the rises were due to different causes.

Its authors wrote: 'The rise in births to women born in the UK can be attributed to rising fertility rates among UK born women.

'In contrast, the rise in the number of births to foreign- born women can be attributed to the increase in the population of women born outside the UK