The borough where families are slowly disappearing

Islington seems, on the surface, a family-friendly area. Parents push buggies through quiet leafy side streets of this popular neighbourhood that is also within easy reach of central London.

But this north London borough has one of the lowest fertility rates in the country and mothers are older on average here than in most other parts of the capital.

Islington is a snapshot of a trend also playing out not only in inner London but also other parts of the world.

The situation has been described by the London Assembly as an "existential challenge" for the city as a whole, so what are the reasons behind this and what can be done about it?

Keen to find out more about family life in Islington, I joined a Zip-Zap baby music class to speak to parents.

Tiphanie Frutuoso and her husband had their first baby this year.

"My husband and I have a one-bedroom flat – a two-bedroom is super expensive.

"Childcare is £2,000-£3,000 a month."

They are moving back to Luxembourg, partly because childcare is free.

"It's really sad because we love London. We have better job opportunities here," Frutuoso added.

Tina Meschino had her first child at 41.

"I've always been career-driven. I moved to London from Australia for career opportunities.

"It's taken a while to get to where I want to be – an executive position – which felt like the right time to start a family."

But she added that it was very difficult to find a suitable home with enough space, within budget.

Samantha Nagaratnam had her daughter at 35.

"I was moving forward in my career and was really, really focused on that. But nobody tells you how hard it is [to fall pregnant]. It took about three years when we started trying."

Originally from Toronto, she said it was much harder to find a family home in Islington with enough space.

Zip-Zap co-founder Laura Edwards says families are moving out of Islington to other boroughs for better schools, more affordable homes and more space.

"It's going to have huge implications in 40-50 years when there's nobody to do the jobs and support the economy."

Some families have told me they have decided to stay in the borough but it is proving to be really difficult.

Father-of-two Patrick Penny-Annang has lived in Islington all his life and now shares a one-bedroom flat with his family.

"Our living room becomes our bedroom... our one bed becomes the kids' room," he said.

"Islington is a lovely area to live in but because of that it's really expensive.

"Schools have been closing, schools that I used to go to."

Between 2013 and 2023, London's population of 0–9-year-olds fell by 99,100, despite the capital's overall population growing by 506,000. The decline has been steeper in inner than outer London.

"It's an existential challenge for London," says Bassam Mahfouz, chairman of the London Assembly's Economy, Culture and Skills Committee.

His committee's recent report recommends pursuing UNICEF Child Friendly City status, introducing child-friendly housing standards, and mapping play and recreation spaces across boroughs.

"We need to tackle this as an absolute emergency.

"What's happening in Islington is happening right across London," he said, warning the trend threatens the city's workforce.

He is urging the government and the mayor to "redouble their efforts" to ensure "children are growing up in every postcode".

The fertility rate measures the number of children born per woman of childbearing age.

At 0.99, Islington has the second-lowest total fertility rate in the capital after the City of London, and one of the lowest in England.

To put it in perspective, the estimated number of children born per woman fell to just under 1.4 for England and Wales in 2025, down from 1.9 in 2010.

BBC England's data unit analysed some of the factors that may be contributing to Islington's low rate:

• Young women leaving: In 2025, Islington recorded a net loss of 1,062 women aged 30-34, one of the biggest declines for that age group in the country
• High rents: In 2023-24, renters spent 46% of the median local income on rent, giving Islington the ninth-highest rent-to-income ratio among 316 councils in England and Wales and only eight boroughs – all in London – ranked higher
• Unaffordable housing: In 2025, the median house price was almost 12 times the median annual income, placing Islington among the 40 least affordable local authorities in England
• Social housing demand: As of 31 March 2025, 16,794 households were on Islington's social housing waiting list – the 17th highest in England and sixth highest in London
• Expensive childcare: Parents paid an average £9.39 an hour for two-year-olds - the 12th highest in England.

Francesca Baker-Brooker, 39, who works in PR, and her husband Andy, 41, an accountant, have decided not to have children.

The couple live in a two-bedroom flat in Islington. They both say they shared a "gut instinct" early in their relationship that parenthood was not for them.

"We like our lifestyle - we like running, going to festivals and gigs," Francesca said.

Soon after that conversation, they moved from a three-bedroom house in Kent to a two-bedroom flat in Islington and Andy had a vasectomy.

"I don't know how feasible it would have been to move to London if we'd wanted to start a family," Andy said.

When people ask if he has a family, Andy says his answer is: "I have a family – my wife."

They say about half of their friends in London do not have children, although they believe that is far less common outside the capital.

"I think it definitely is easier to be child-free in London," he added.

Katie Beck, a policy fellow at the London School of Economics' LSE Cities, said: "People want to have children in London, but there are barriers – namely the cost of living and childcare.

"People are not able to stay in London to have children, or once they do they're moving to outer boroughs or leaving London altogether."

Beck says London's falling rates of children reflects a wider global trend, driven by housing and childcare costs, more women entering higher education and the workforce, changing parenting expectations, fewer teenage pregnancies, and growing concerns about the future.

She points to boroughs such as Islington, where high poverty, limited green space, expensive housing and dense populations contribute to particularly low child populations.

I was keen to find out what the younger generation think, so spoke to a group of students.

Jess Rolf, 23, says having children was "never something she worried about", and trying to build a settled life was "very stressful with the cost of living and the job market".

"I'm from Lincolnshire and people my age back home are buying houses with their partners and talking about starting families.

"I don't think that's on the cards for me."

Charlotte Ward, 26, has said planning ahead is difficult.

"A lot of people our age are quite disenfranchised.

"You put all your energy into school, university and work, then wonder, 'do I want to bring somebody else into that if I can't even support myself right now?'

"When parents or grandparents ask 'what happens when you have children?', I can say, 'I might not'.

"There's a small element of emancipation from the expectation that you definitely will have children but if I'm progressing in my career and my male counterparts don't have to take time out to have a child, that could put me at a disadvantage."

Millicent Angel, 24, says it is hard to envisage a future when the world feels "so unstable" but she still definitely wants children.

She adds there's "a million and one things" she would like to do first, including developing her career.

Beck argues that "children are an indicator species".

"They are a sign of a healthy city. If you see a dearth of children, that rings alarm bells that a city is not functioning as it should," she added.

She describes a child-friendly city as one that is accessible, with active transport and safe affordable housing.

As the independent think tank Centre for London points out: "London is not becoming a city without families with children, but it is becoming a place where the realities that families with children face are increasingly unequal."

A spokesperson for the Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan said: "The mayor wants London to remain a city for everyone – where people can afford to put down roots, raise a family and build a future.

"That is why tackling London's housing crisis and increasing the supply of genuinely affordable homes is one of his top priorities, alongside measures to support families with the cost of living, including funding free school meals for every child in a state primary school."

They added that he would "continue working with the government to build more affordable homes, support public services and ensure London remains a great place for families and children".

A government spokesperson said: "We've made paternity and unpaid parental leave day one rights through our Employment Rights Act, and have rolled out 30 hours of funded childcare a week to working families."

The government added that it was also building more council homes to back "families at every stage".

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