Scotland’s birth rate hits record low for third year running

Scotland recorded its lowest number of births for a third consecutive year in 2025, with 45,067 live births registered.

The total was almost 696 fewer than the previous year and the lowest annual figure since records began in 1855.

Deaths also outnumbered births for the 11th consecutive year, with the gap between the two generally widening since 2014.

Registrar General and National Records of Scotland chief executive Alison Byrne said: “This is the eleventh year in a row where deaths have outnumbered births and the third in a row where we have a new record low for the number of births in Scotland.

“Generations of change are captured in these figures.

“This data will inform debate and decision-making across the public and private sectors, as we consider what this means for our future.”

Figures published by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) show the country’s total fertility rate fell to 1.23 in 2025, from 1.24 in 2024.

The total fertility rate measures the average number of children born to each woman. A rate of around 2.1 is needed for a population to replace itself without migration.

Scotland’s 2025 figure was the lowest since the start of the NRS-published time series in 1951. The country’s fertility rate was last above 2.1 in 1973.

Despite the decline in births, Scotland’s population increased slightly in the year to June 2025, driven by migration.

The annual figures also showed an increase in stillbirths, from 159 in 2024 to 188 in 2025.

This represented 4.2 stillbirths for every 1,000 live and stillbirths, compared with 3.5 in 2024. The 2024 figure was the joint lowest stillbirth rate recorded for any year and remains historically low.

The infant death rate fell from 3.5 per 1,000 live births in 2024 to 3.3 in 2025.

Adoptions declined from 369 in 2024 to 340 in 2025.

Meanwhile, 27,191 marriages took place in Scotland during 2025, 236 more than the previous year. Four per cent were same-sex marriages and 96 per cent were mixed-sex marriages.

Civil partnerships increased to 944, the highest number since 2006, the first full year in which civil partnerships were available.

The figures form part of the NRS annual release covering births, marriages, deaths and other vital life events in Scotland.