The Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) updated its monthly estimate of births through June on 19 August 2026. According to the figures, 156,887 children were born in Spain in the first half of 2026, 1,656 more than in the same period in 2025. The INE estimates 26,291 births in June, compared with 26,066 a year earlier – an increase of around one per cent. The release thus confirms a slight upturn compared with the previous year.
The age profile of mothers continues to shift upwards: in June 2026, births to mothers aged 40 and over (2,758) exceeded those to mothers under 25 (2,506). Most children are born to mothers aged 30 to 34 and 35 to 39; in June the INE recorded 8,643 and 7,754 births in these groups respectively. The figures refer to the mother’s age at the time of birth and reinforce the ongoing trend towards later motherhood in Spain.
Regionally, the number of births rose in the first half of the year in Andalusia, Asturias, Castilla y León, Catalonia, the Comunidad Valenciana, Madrid, Murcia and La Rioja. The statistics report declines in Balearic Islands, with Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, Galicia, the Basque Country and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla. The regional picture therefore remains mixed; national increases result from opposing movements in the Autonomous Communities and the two Spanish cities in North Africa.
The release is a provisional estimate based on reports from civil registries (Registro Civil). The INE will provide final figures as part of the register Movimiento Natural de la Población at a later date; interim figures may be revised. The monthly estimates are intended to provide a timely indication of short-term trends in births, so individual monthly figures should be interpreted with caution. The estimate is broken down by the mother’s age and by area in order to show short-term shifts in the age profile and regional differences.
The baseline remains low compared with 2016: 43,368 more children were born in the first six months of 2016 than in 2026. At the same time, according to the INE, the current increase marks a second consecutive rise following years of falling figures – a sign confirming the change in trend seen last year. The provisional monthly figures alone cannot establish the causes or possible effects on employment, family policy or longer-term population trends.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).