Insee Focus · September 2021 · n° 251

Drop in births nine months after the first lockdown: especially for the youngest and oldest women

In 2020, 735,200 babies were born in France, 2.4% fewer than in 2019. Births fell from April onwards, then sharply from mid-December 2020 until mid-February 2021, nine months after the first lockdown in spring 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Between 15 December 2020 and 15 February 2021, 10.2% fewer babies were born than between 15 December 2019 and 15 February 2020. The subsequent rebound in March and April only partially compensated for this drop.

Nine months after the first lockdown, births fall most for the youngest women (especially before 20) but also for the oldest (40 or over). The rebound increases with age; for the youngest, however, births after lockdown remain lower than in previous years.

Births are declining throughout the country, but especially in the regions most affected by the first wave of the pandemic.

In the first six months of 2021, births are down by an average of 2.7% per day compared to a year earlier.