Number of births down on previous years

NEW figures show that the number of births in Scotland last year was the lowest annual total ever recorded since records began in 1855.

This is reflected to some extent locally, with the total number of births in 2020/21 – both in Shetland and those which needed to be transferred south – the lowest in recent years.

A freedom of information request from Shetland News shows that between April 2020 and February 2021 inclusive 130 locally based mothers had babies.

In comparison in the figure for the full 2019/20 financial year was 181, and the year prior it was 207.

September has been a busy month for births for Shetland mums in recent years – 20 for example in 2018 – but last year there were only five.

But with small numbers the trends can fluctuate. For example in July last year there were 18 births, but in that month in 2019 there were 14.

The number of projected baby deliveries in Shetland in 2021, meanwhile, is up slightly compared to the same figure last year.

Nationally in the 2020 calendar year 46,809 live births were registered.

This meant that there were 17,825 fewer births in Scotland in 2020 than deaths.

In Scotland births have been falling over the long-term and fell to their lowest point in 2002 before increasing again.

With the Covid pandemic taking hold last year, there were 11 per cent more “excess deaths” in Scotland compared to the previous five-year average.

National Records of Scotland vital events statistician Julie Ramsay said: “With over 64,000 deaths in 2020, which is 10 per cent higher than in 2019, the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Scotland are clear.

“NRS statistics also show that there were only 46,809 births across Scotland in 2020, which is the lowest number since records began in 1855.”