24% of UK babies born to immigrants

Almost a quarter of babies born in the UK are children of immigrants, data shows.

There were 808,000 births in the UK last year, of which 196,000 were children born to non-UK born women - or 24%.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows there has been a steady increase in the number of children born to mothers who were born abroad since 2001, when the figure stood at 15.3%.

Polish women who live in the UK gave birth to around 23,000 children last year.

Women from Pakistan had 19,200 babies in the same period and Indian women gave birth to 15,500 children.

Four in 10 children born to immigrant mothers were born in London. Half were born in other parts of England, and one in 10 were born in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland combined.

The ONS said fertility rates for non-UK born women are higher than those born in the UK. The total fertility rate for women born in the UK is 1.89 children each, while for those born outside the UK the figure is 2.28.

The figures show that in 2007, 14% of women living in the UK aged 15 to 44 had been born outside the UK. This rose to 18% last year.