Birth rates across South East London fell last year, with Greenwich, the worst affected borough, seeing a drop of 4.5%.
Every borough in South East London saw a drop in the number of live births from 2024 to 2025, figures from the Office of National Statistics released in May show.
The worst affected borough, Greenwich, experienced a fall from 3,512 to 3,355, while Lewisham saw the least impact and dropped by just 1.3%.
It comes amid concerns about the cost of living, housing, and a broader conversation about the declining Total Fertility Rate (TFR) in London.
How does South East London compare to the rest of the capital?
Across London, 29 out of 35 boroughs saw a decline in births, with the only significant exceptions being Wandsworth, Kingston, Kensington and Chelsea, Merton, and Brent.
The biggest percentage boost was found in Wandsworth at 3% – rising from 3,848 to 3,964.
The borough with the most births last year was Newham with 5,342, while the borough with the least was by far the City of London with 69.
Lewisham was the South East borough which recorded the most births with a total of 3,677.
What is behind the falling birth rate and what can be done to reverse it?
‘Boom’ is a Westminster think tank focused on making Britain an easier place to have children.
Co-director of the group, Phoebe Arslanagić-Little said: “It is likely that birth rates are falling in London because of high rents and house prices. This motivates people who would like to have children to leave London in order to be able to find a home large enough to do so.
“It is also the case that London is more likely to be home to people who are more likely to wait longer to have children, such as people with demanding careers.”
When asked about what the local governments in London could be doing to support young families, Arslanagić-Little immediately focused on the housing issue.
She said: “A very good start for London councils that want to support more of their residents who are or want to become parents is to think about how they can liberalise planning laws in their areas.
“More homes being built means more options for families.”
Felix Hardinge is a 31-year-old Londoner working in finance with a four month old daughter.
He raised his baby for Pimlico for the first two months, before moving back to his home in South London.
Hardinge said: “Camberwell is definitely nicer! It is greener than areas around Pimlico and Victoria, and with less homeless people.
“Cost of living doesn’t affect me much yet as we are not paying for a nursery – with my wife able to do a lot of childcare as a freelancer. ULEZ is annoying, as a driver, but being in an area with great train connections, it is not a huge issue.
“The best way a government could help me as a father would be tackling low-level street crime, so my wife and child can always traverse London without encountering trouble.”
Miriam Cates is a former Conservative MP turned GB News presenter who spends lots of time speaking about plummeting fertility rates across the globe.
When asked about London, the ex-politician pointed to familiar pressures shared by all urban centres.
Cates said: “London is a very difficult place to have and raise children. Some London boroughs have exceptionally low fertility rates and we have seen a number of primary schools closing due to lack of pupils.
“It is normal for urban areas to have lower birth rates than rural and suburban places and this is a trend across the world. Demographers think that this is in large part due to the cost and type of housing: small apartments or flat shares are not conducive to having children.
“The cost of living in London is so high that it is very difficult for young couples to be able to afford to take some time off work to raise childcare.
“And given that London salaries are higher than the UK average, many young people find themselves in the ‘tax trap’ of earning more than 100 000 a year, meaning that they lose out on childcare vouchers, personal tax allowance, married tax allowance and even child benefit.”
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