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Scotland’s birth rate falls to record low for third year running

For a population to replace itself, if there was no migration, the total fertility rate needs to be around 2.1 – which is the number of children born to each woman.

Scotland’s total fertility rate also dropped last year, falling to 1.23, down from 1.24 in 2024 – the lowest rate since the start of the NRS-published time series in 1951.

The last time the country’s total fertility rate was above this level was 1973.

However, Scotland’s population increase slightly in the year to June 2025, with the increase driven by migration instead of births.

The report also shows the number of stillbirth babies and adoptions.

Stillbirths were found to have increased in Scotland in the last year, with the number rising to 188 up from 159 in 2024. This represents a rate of 4.2 for every thousand live and stillbirths.

However, last year’s rate (3.5) was the joint lowest stillbirth rate for any year, and remains historically low.

The infant death rate also decreased, dropping from 3.5 for every thousand live births in 2024, to 3.3 in 2025.

Adoptions also fell from 369 in 2024 to 340 in 2025.


BBC News

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