News

A ‘baby slump’ during the 1990s is expected to cause a fall in the number of British teenagers over the next decade, it has been reported.

Professor John Salt, director of the Migration Research Unit at University College London, told the Daily Telegraph that between 1978 and the early 1990s, the fertility rate was stable or increasing but from the 1990s to 2001 there was a slowing in the birth rate due to women choosing to put off having children to pursue their careers.

The research, which was based on analysis of figures from the Office for National Statistics, found that by 2017 the number of teenagers will have decreased by 5% of its current level to 4.9 million.

According to the newspaper this could have wide-ranging effects including a reduction in the number of applications for universities and secondary schools, as well as a bleak future for rural communities already struggling to retain the younger generation.

However, Professor Salt told the Daily Telegraph: "These things go up and down in cycles. Fertility and immigration increased after 2001, which will be reflected in a growing teenage population from 2018."