‘Notable’ rise in dads over 60 in England and Wales

Babies born to fathers over the age of 60 went up by 14.2% in 2024 compared with the year before, official figures show.

Of 594,677 live births in England and Wales last year, 1,076 babies had dads over 60, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Total births in England in 2024 rose slightly for the first time since 2021.

Births where one or both parents were born outside of the UK also increased in both England and Wales.

The ONS said the increase in the number of babies born to older dads was “notable”.

A number of celebrities have welcomed children later in life. Rod Stewart was 65 when his youngest was born. Robert De Niro was 79 when his sixth child was born and in October last year Al Pacino told the BBC it was “fun” being a new dad in his 80s.

Professor Allan Pacey, an expert in male fertility, said research shows men over the age of 40 are “about half as fertile” as men aged 25, making the rise even more interesting.

The number of babies born to parents younger than 30 decreased last year, following the pattern of people waiting longer to start a family.

Bucking the global trend for declining birth rates, the ONS reported a slight lift in the number of births in England.

In 2024, there were 567,708 live births in England, an increase of 0.7% compared with the year before.

However in Wales there were 26,832 live births – a decrease of 2% compared with 2023.

Greg Ceely, head of population health monitoring at the Office for National Statistics, said the overall number of births in England and Wales “reverses the recent trend” of declining births.

“Despite this overall rise, the number of births to mothers under 30 fell, as people continue to put off having children until later in life.

“The largest decrease is seen amongst those under 20 years old, which fell by almost 5%,” he added.

Rapidly increasing costs of living are often cited as a barrier to having children.

The government has also launched a review of parental leave after acknowledging that one in three dads do not take paternity leave because they cannot afford to.

Angela McConville, chief executive at childbirth charity NCT, said: “If government is serious about supporting people to have babies, they must create the right conditions for families to thrive.

“That means access to safe, personalised maternity and postnatal care for everyone, as well as affordable childcare and action on the cost of living.”

Last month Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced a national investigation into maternity care in England after a series of failings.

The ONS figures also show an increase in the number of births to parents born outside of the UK in 2024.

The percentage of live births where either one or both parents were born outside of the UK was 40.4% in England (up from 38.2% in 2023), and 19.4% in Wales (up from 17.5% in 2023).

India remains the most frequent country of birth for non-UK born mothers and fathers for the third year in a row.

When it comes to the timing of babies’ births, Boxing Day (26 December) was the least likely birthday for babies born last year – for the twelfth year in a row.

The most common day for babies to be born was 23 February.

The most popular day for arrivals was a Tuesday, with Saturdays and Sundays the least likely day for a baby’s birth.