Births: key figures
Explanation of symbols
Table explanation
Key figures on fertility, live and stillborn children and multiple births among inhabitants of The Netherlands.
Available selections:
- Live born children by sex;
- Live born children by age of the mother (31 December), in groups;
- Live born children by birth order from the mother;
- Live born children by marital status of the mother;
- Live born children by country of birth of the mother and origin country of the mother;
- Stillborn children by duration of pregnancy;
- Births: single and multiple;
- Average number of children per female;
- Average number of children per male;
- Average age of the mother at childbirth by birth order from the mother;
- Average age of the father at childbirth by birth order from the mother;
- Net replacement factor.
CBS is in transition towards a new classification of the population by origin. Greater emphasis is now placed on where a person was born, aside from where that person’s parents were born. The term ‘migration background’ is no longer used in this regard. The main categories western/non-western are being replaced by categories based on continents and a few countries that share a specific migration history with the Netherlands. The new classification is being implemented gradually in tables and publications on population by origin.
Data available from: 1950
Most of the data is available as of 1950 with the exception of the live born children by country of birth of the mother and origin country of the mother (from 2021, previous periods will be added at a later time), stillborn children by duration of pregnancy (24+) (from 1991), average number of children per male (from 1996) and the average age of the father at childbirth (from 1996).
Status of the figures:
All data recorded in this publication are final data.
Changes per 23 November 2023:
None, this is a new table.
This table replaces table 'Birth; key figures, 1950-2022' which has been discontinued. A link to this table is included in section 3.
The following changes have been made:
The topics relating to live born children by migration background of the mother have been replaced by live born children by country of birth (Netherlands, outside the Netherlands) and country of origin of the mother.
When will new figures be published?
In the third quarter of 2024 final figures of 2023 will be published in this publication.
Description topics
- Live born children
- Live born child:
A baby showing some sign of life after birth, regardless of the duration of pregnancy.
Lesbian parenthood:
The law on lesbian parenthood came into effect on 1 April 2014. From April 2014 onwards the female partner of the biological mother may become the legal parent of the child without a legal adoption procedure. The same data for both mothers are available in the municipal population register.
Statistics Netherlands does not have information about which of the mothers is the biological mother. To obtain data about, for example, the age, number of children and origin of the mother, Statistics Netherlands selects one of the mothers at random.
Lesbian parenthood occurs in less than 0.2% of all births.- Crude birth rate
- Live born children per thousand of the average number of inhabitants.
- By birth order from the mother
- Live born children by birth order from the mother.
Birth order from the mother:
The position of the child in the ranking of live births from a mother.- Total live born children
- 1st child
- Live born first children from the mother.
- 2nd child
- Live born second children from the mother.
- 3rd child
- Live born third children from the mother.
- 4th or following children
- Live born fourth or following children from the mother.
- Average age of the mother
- Average age of the mother at childbirth.
Average age:
The arithmetic mean of all ages.
Age mother:
The number of whole years that have passed between the mother's date of birth and 31 December of the year of birth of her child.- At 1st birth
- Average age of the mother at childbirth, first live born children from the mother.
Live born child:
A baby showing some sign of life after birth, regardless of the duration of pregnancy.
- At 2nd birth
- Average age of the mother at childbirth, second live born children from the mother.
Live born child:
A baby showing some sign of life after birth, regardless of the duration of pregnancy.
- At 3rd birth
- Average age of the mother at childbirth, third live born children from the mother.
Live born child:
A baby showing some sign of life after birth, regardless of the duration of pregnancy.
- At 4th or following birth
- Average age of the mother at childbirth, fourth or following live born children from the mother.
Live born child:
A baby showing some sign of life after birth, regardless of the duration of pregnancy.
- Average age of the father
- Average age of the father at childbirth.
Available from 1996.
Average age:
The arithmetic mean of all ages.
Ages of unknown fathers are estimates.
Age father:
The number of whole years that have passed between the father's date of birth and 31 December of the year of birth of his child.
Ages of unknown fathers are estimates.- At 1st birth from the mother
- Average age of the father at childbirth for all live born first children from the mother.
Live born child:
A baby showing some sign of life after birth, regardless of the duration of pregnancy.