Most children of British mothers are now being born out of wedlock, official figures suggest.

Most children of British mothers are now being born out of wedlock, official figures suggest.

Since 2006 the proportion of children born to married British parents is thought to have dropped below 50 per cent for the first time. They are being outweighed by those who are part of cohabiting couples or single-parent families.

It comes as data from the Office for National Statistics show that women are having more children than at any time since the 1970s.

Previous figures from the ONS indicate that the percentage of babies born outside marriage to British-born mothers rose from 38.7 per cent in 1996.

Ten years later the figure was 49.4 per cent - 266,000 births - and analysts believe the upward trend has continued, breaching the 50 per cent mark at some point in the last 18 months.

The fertility rate figures released yesterday show that each woman now has 1.91 children on average, the highest since 1973.

As a result women are having more children than at any time since the 1970s, with almost one in four born to foreign mothers, official figures show.

Each woman now has 1.91 children on average - the highest since 1973 - according to the Office for National Statistics.

As a result the number of births - 690,000 - increased by 20,000 in 2007 compared to the previous year, when there were 1.86 children per woman.

A third of those were born to British mothers and the rest to women originally from overseas.

One factor in the rise is the tendency for foreign-born mothers, particularly from the Indian sub-continent, to have large families.

Another is women choosing to have children when they are in their more fertile 20s, rather than delaying until they are in their 30s and 40s.

However, those who do delay are having more children due to improvements in fertility treatment.

The figures, which relate to England and Wales, indicate the overall fertility rate has now increased for six successive years.

Its lowest point came in 2001 when it sank to 1.63 children per woman.

However, last year's rate is still far lower than in the 1960s when it reached a peak of 2.93 children per woman in 1964.

Lois Cook, the ONS statistician behind the provisional figures, said the analysis showed women across the country and of all ages were contributing to population growth.

Ms Cook said: "It is quite complicated and there is not a single explanation such as older mothers or migrant mothers.

"Apart from women under 20, all child bearing age groups are experiencing a rise in fertility rates which could mean fewer are putting off having a family and deciding to have children before they reach 30.

"It is true that rates are also going up among women in their 30s and 40s. But in the early part of 2001 there was evidence more women were delaying motherhood."

The proportion of births to foreign-born women now stands at 23 per cent, an increase of 1 per cent.

On average, foreign women have 2.5 children each, rising to almost five for those from Pakistan, and 3.9 from Bangladesh.

The number of babies born to British mothers is also increasing, but lags far behind immigrants at an average of 1.7 children each.

Compared with 2006, there have been increases in fertility rates for all age groups except for women under 20. The highest percentage increase was observed for women aged 40 and over with an increase of 6 per cent compared with the previous year.

Fertility rates for women aged 40 and over have more than doubled in 15 years since 1992 and in 2007 reached 12.1 births per 1,000 women.

Last year 3,345 infant deaths were registered, giving a rate of 4.8 deaths per 1,000 live births. This is the lowest rate ever recorded in England and Wales.

The ONS has predicted the UK population could reach 71 million by 2031, with migrants and their UK-born children accounting for 69 per cent of that growth. Part of the reason for the explosion is Eastern European women, particularly Poles, having more children in Britain.

The number of deaths registered increased for the first time since 2003. In 2007, there were 504,052 deaths in England and Wales representing an increase of 0.3 per cent compared with 2006.

Circulatory diseases, such as heart disease, are still the most common major cause of death contributing to over one third (34 per cent).

Cancer accounted for just over a quarter (28 per cent) of all deaths registered in 2007, with a rate of 2,133 per million population for males and 1,545 for females. Since 1997 death rates for cancer have fallen, by 16 per cent for males and 12 per cent for females.

Births out of wedlock 'pass 40%'
The ONS highlights a rise in unmarried, cohabiting parents The proportion of children born outside marriage in the UK has leapt from 12% in 1980 to 42% in 2004, according to the Office for National Statistics. In contrast, 15 other EU countries had an estimated average of 33%, the annual ONS' Social Trends report said. The average UK household size fell from 2.9 to 2.4 people from 1971 to 2005. This was due to more single-parent families, smaller families and an increase in households of just one person, the ONS said. See graphic of births outside marriage in EU and people living alone ONS editor Hayley Butcher said: "Although most children are born to married couples, this substantial rise in births outside marriage is a reflection of the rising trend in cohabiting parents." From 1986 to 2004, the percentage of non-married people under 60 who cohabited rose from 11% to 24% among men, and from 13% to 25% for women. Living alone The number of households in the UK increased by 30% - from 18.6 to 24.2 million - between 1971 and 2005. Some young people may remain at home while in education or because of economic necessity Office for National Statistics The average household size fell from 2.9 to 2.4 people over the same period. Some seven million people lived alone in 2005 - representing 29% of all households, up from 18% in 1971 - the ONS said. The ONS said that in the 1980s and 1990s one-person households mainly comprised older women, who tended to live longer than men. But recent years had seen an increasing tendency for people to live alone at younger ages. The largest increases in the last 20 years had been among people aged 25 to 44, and men from 45 to 64. HAVE YOUR SAY Society has always been in turmoil and probably always will John, Southampton Send us your comments The ONS' Social Trends study also reported that young men were more likely to live with their parents than young women. Some 57% of men aged 20 to 24 lived with their parents in 2005 - up from 50% in 1991 - compared with just 38% of women - up from 32%. "Some young people may remain at home while in education or because of economic necessity, such as difficulties entering the housing market," the report said. The Social Trends study's other findings included: In spring 2005, one in five full-time employees reported usually working more than 48 hours a week. Passengers travelling to or from overseas countries through UK airports (excluding transit passengers) almost quadrupled between 1980 and 2004, from 43 to 167 million. More than one billion journeys were made on the national rail network each year in 2003-4 and 2004-5 - the highest level since 1961. Transactions using debit cards increased ten-fold from 1991 to 2004, while credit card transactions trebled. The number of UK households that owned second homes abroad rose 45%, to almost 257,000, from 1999-2000 to 2003-4.