Decade's steady rise in number of babies born to non-British mothers

An analysis of figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows there were more than 12,000 babies born to foreign mothers in Yorkshire last year – up from around 6,500 in 2001.

The steady rise over the course of the decade meant nearly one in five babies born in Yorkshire last year had a non-British mother – up from just over one in 10 at the start of the decade.

In Bradford, Yorkshire's most diverse city, every third baby is now born to a foreign mother.

The trend is reflected throughout much of Britain, and is even more marked in the south of the country. Across the UK as a whole, a quarter of all births during 2009 were to non-British mothers.

A recent ONS report stated: "This is the highest proportion since the collection of parents' country of birth was introduced at birth registration in 1969. This proportion (24.9 per cent) has grown every year since 1990, when it was just 12 per cent, with a marked rise over the last decade."

A key factor behind the trend is the fact British women on average have fewer children than women born outside the UK who come to live here.

The estimated fertility rate for British mothers last year was 1.84 children per woman. For women born outside the UK, but living here, the rate was almost 2.5.

Some parts of the region which previously hosted very low numbers of births to foreign mothers have seen huge proportional increases since 2001. In Hull, for example, the number of babies born to non-UK mothers increased four-fold over the course of the decade.

More than 85 per cent of the babies born in the city are still born to British mothers, however.

A spokeswoman for Hull City Council said increased birth rates had been taken into account when the current overhaul of the city's schools was being planned.

On Saturday, the Yorkshire Post revealed increasing birth rates in the region are helping to fuel the largest population explosion in at least a generation.

However, a recent study on behalf of Yorkshire Forward and two other regional development agencies concluded that it is British-born women's increased fertility which remains the primary factor behind the boom.