Ghana enters top 10 list for non-UK-born mothers in England and Wales, surpassing Germany

Ghana has made a significant entrance into the top 10 most common countries of birth for non-UK-born mothers in England and Wales, as reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for 2023.

This marks Ghana’s first appearance on the list, taking ninth place, while Germany, a fixture in the top 10 since ONS began recording this measure in 2003, has dropped out.

The report shows that nearly a third of live births in England and Wales last year (31.8 percent) were to mothers born outside the UK, up slightly from 30.3 percent in 2022.

This continues a long-term trend observed since 2010, when the proportion of births to non-UK-born mothers passed the quarter mark. India and Pakistan continue to hold the top two positions on the list.

With Ghana now in the ninth position, accounting for 0.6 percent of births, the country’s growing presence in the UK is further highlighted. 

This shift underscores Ghana’s increasing influence within the British Ghanaian community and its contribution to the country’s diversity.

Greg Ceely, head of population health monitoring at ONS, noted that while the data illustrates the rising proportion of non-UK-born mothers, it does not capture families’ ethnicity or full migration history. "Almost a third of babies born in 2023 in England and Wales were to non-UK-born women, a slight increase on the percentage in 2022," he stated. 

He added that “not all women born outside the UK will be recent immigrants,” reminding that the data focuses on birth countries rather than personal migration histories.

Further, the ONS data reflects similar trends in non-UK-born fathers, with India and Pakistan at the top. For the first time, Nigeria has risen to third place among non-UK-born fathers, up from sixth position in 2020, signifying the impact of West African communities within the UK.

London continues to have the highest proportion of live births to at least one non-UK-born parent, at 67.4 percent, while the lowest rates were recorded in Wales and the North East of England, at 17.5 percent and 20.5 percent, respectively.