Number of births rises for first time since crisis began

The number of births in Spain rose slightly in 2014 for the first time since the economic crisis began in 2008, according to new data published by the National Statistics institute (INE) yesterday.
426,303 babies were born in Spain last year, 588 more than in 2013.
The birth rate steadies at 9.1 babies per 1,000 people—still the lowest rate in the last 40 years—or 1.32 babies per woman, up slightly from 1.27 in the previous year.
The rate rose slightly for both Spanish and immigrant women.
The number of fertile women- those aged between 15 and 49 - continues to decline due to three factors: there are now fewer women coming of age due to a previous birth rate crisis in the 1990s, there are fewer immigrant women arriving and there are more Spanish women emigrating abroad.
The average age of women having babies in Spain has also risen a full year since the economic crisis began.