20% of Burnley babies have non-UK-born mothers

One in five babies born in Burnley last year have mothers from outside the UK, according to the Office of National Statistics (ONS).
The rate of births to non-UK-born mothers in Burnley of 20.4% is significantly lower than the average for England and Wales (28.4%).The rate of births to non-UK-born mothers in Burnley of 20.4% is significantly lower than the average for England and Wales (28.4%).
The rate of births to non-UK-born mothers in Burnley of 20.4% is significantly lower than the average for England and Wales (28.4%).

According to the ONS, 244 of the 1,196 births in the area were born to non-UK-born mothers a rate of 20.4%, which is significantly lower than the average for England and Wales (28.4%), with the most common place of origin for the mothers being the Middle East and Asia, which making up 66% of the group.

In the five years from 2012 to 2017, the total number of births in Burnley fell slightly - from 1,227 births in 2012 to 1,196 last year, while during the same period, the number of births born to non-UK-born mothers increased significantly - from 199 births in 2012 to 244 last year.

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Of the non-UK born mothers, 70 were originally born in the EU, four in European countries outside the EU, and nine in Africa, with the final figures including those who moved to the UK as children and have lived there most of their lives, as well as those who have recently migrated. Figures naturally do not include the children of second or third generation immigrants.

Analysis of the Annual Population Survey by the Migration Observatory at the University of Oxford also found that there is a higher proportion of migrants among people of childbearing age, with 28% of the country's 30 to 39-year-olds not born in the country compared with 14% of the population overall (2017 figures).

"People migrate at all ages, but in general it's harder for families to migrate," said Migration Observatory director, Madeleine Sumpton, explaining why the national numbers are high. "People in their 20s and early 30s generally have fewer attachments, and it's more worthwhile for them to move."

The Migration Observatory also reported that 62% of foreign-born residents have been in the country for more than 10 years, and that a third arrived in the UK when they were under 18, with the highest percentage of births to non-UK born mothers in England and Wales being in Brent, where 75.7% of mothers were born outside the UK.

"Migrants who arrived in the country as children are relatively settled, and in many cases they will be socioeconomically indistinguishable from the UK-born," added Ms Sumpton.

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