The number of births in County Wexford rose from 1,897 in 1985 to 2,096 in 2014, before declining to 1,702 in 2024, according to CSO data.
Births Per Year
Births in County Wexford continued to rise during the Celtic Tiger period of rapid economic expansion and for several years after the financial crisis of 2008, peaking at 2,096 in 2014. Annual births dropped from 2,096 in 2014 to 1,702 in 2024, a decrease of 19 per cent. The yearly figures were 1,988 (2015), 1,901 (2016), 1,907 (2017), 1,806 (2018), 1,805 (2019), 1,731 (2020), 1,774 (2021), 1,750 (2022), 1,772 (2023), and 1,702 (2024).
A comparison with counties Wicklow and Kilkenny shows that this trend was common across the south-east:
Rising unemployment and cuts to social welfare and child benefit likely drove the drop in the birth rate, as many couples delayed having children. The trend was also evident among first-time mothers:
Average Age – Mothers
In 2003, the average age of women giving birth in County Wexford reached 30. From 1985 to 2014, the average age rose from 28.7 to 31.3. The average age of first-time mothers in Wexford also increased, from 25.4 in 1989 to 28.8 in 2014. County-level data for average maternal age in Wexford is available up to 2014.
Nationally, the average age of mothers has continued to rise, reaching 33.3 in 2024. The average age of first-time mothers nationally was 31.7 in 2024.
This trend towards later motherhood, sometimes referred to as advanced maternal age, is common in many developed countries. It reflects educational, social, and economic factors that have led women to delay having children.
Births Inside Marriage vs Outside Marriage
Attitudes towards having children outside of marriage have shifted considerably over the decades:
The number of unmarried mothers giving birth in County Wexford rose from 149 in 1985 to 950 in 2014, when births outside marriage accounted for 45.6 per cent of all births in the county. By 2022, that figure had risen to 53 per cent, the highest percentage of births outside marriage or civil partnership of any county in Ireland. County-level data for Wexford is available up to 2022. Nationally, births outside marriage increased from 35 per cent in 2012 to 40.6 per cent in 2023.