Number of births in Quebec | Back to normal in 2021… except in Montreal

The number of births recorded in Quebec has risen to 2019 levels, after having experienced a drop during the pandemic, according to a new report from the Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ). Montreal, however, is an exception.

Alice Girard-Bosse
The Press

84,900

Number of births in Quebec in 2021. This number increased by nearly 4% compared to 2020 (81,850) to return to the level observed in 2019 (84,309).

The pandemic effect

The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic is believed to have led to a decrease in conceptions, as indicated by a trough in births nine months later. “We see that at the end of 2020 and the beginning of 2021, there were really fewer births than the average for previous years,” says Anne Binette-Charbonneau, demographer at the ISQ.

The context of economic and health insecurity, the family difficulties associated with the management of school at home and teleworking and the closure of assisted procreation centers could have led some people to review their parental project, explains the specialist.

The negative effect of the health crisis seems to have been short-lived, since a catch-up in births from March 2021 was observed, i.e. nine months after the end of the first wave.

Montreal apart

Montreal is the only region where the decline in fertility recorded in 2020 was not followed by an increase in 2021. The metropolis continues to show the lowest fertility with an average of 1.3 children per woman, followed by the Laval and Capitale-Nationale regions. Nord-du-Québec maintains the highest with 2.7 children per woman.

“Often, in large cities, fertility is lower because of the level of education and different family structures,” explains the demographer. Indeed, when women study longer, they will often have children at a later age. Family structures are also different in large cities. “There are more women who live alone”, illustrates M^me Binette-Charbonneau.

1.58 children per woman

This is the total fertility rate in Quebec in 2021. After dropping to 1.52 in 2020, it has returned to a level similar to that of 2018 and 2019. The index shows a general downward trend since 2009. “With an aging population, there are fewer women of childbearing age. We observe [une baisse de l’indice] in several developed countries,” says Mr.^me Binette-Charbonneau.

Some fertility indices in 2019

• South Korea: 0.92
• Spain: 1.24
• Italy: 1.27
• Japan: 1.36
• Canada: 1.47
• United Kingdom: 1.65
• United States: 1.71
• Mexico: 2.10
• Afghanistan: 4.32
• Nigeria: 6.82

Source: Data Commons

31 years

Average age at childbearing in 2021. The threshold of 30 years was crossed in 2011. Since the mid-1990s, the average age at childbearing has increased by one year approximately every 10 years.

Falling young pregnant women

“We see that there is a rise in fertility among women aged 25 to 44 in 2021, while among the youngest, it continues to fall,” says Ms.^me Binette-Charbonneau. In recent decades, women under the age of 30 have experienced declining fertility rates, reflecting the tendency of women to postpone births until later in life. This postponement may be associated with several factors, including the extension of the duration of studies and the significant participation of women in the labor market.

65%

Proportion of children from unmarried parents in 2021

2.8%

Proportion of multiple births — twins, triplets, etc. – in 2021. This proportion has been hovering around 3% for the past fifteen years.

31%

Proportion of newborns with at least one parent born abroad in 2021

With Pierre-André Normandin, The Press