Glasgow City Region

Birth trends in the Glasgow City Region

Glasgow has had a relatively high birth rate throughout the last 30 years compared to the other local authorities in the Glasgow City Region, and since 2006 Glasgow has had the highest birth rate in the region. Over the last ten years, birth rates have been in decline in Scotland as a whole and in the Glasgow City Region.

There was a further drop in the birth rate in 2020, coinciding with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Birth rates reduced across the UK in 2020. Birth rates in the Glasgow City Region recovered slightly in 2021; the exceptions to this being in East Renfrewshire and Inverclyde, where birth rates reduced further.

In the latest two years up to 2023, birth rates overall in Scotland have continued to decline. This pattern is mirrored in East Dunbartonshire, however rates for East Renfrewshire did recover in 2023. Other areas in the Glasgow City Region saw an increase in the birth rate in 2022, which then either declined or recovered the following year.

Notes

More detailed data on births in Scotland can be accessed from National Records of Scotland.

Last updated November 2024.