Overview
- In the decade to 2023, the number of London residents under 10 fell by 99,100 even as the overall population grew by 506,000.
- Typical London homes cost 11.1 times average local pay, rents are about 60% above the England average, and nursery fees in inner London run roughly 34% higher than the national figure.
- Fertility in the capital has dropped below 1.2 births per woman after birth rates peaked in 2012 and then fell about 20%, with the average age of new mothers now 32.5.
- A sustained net outflow of 25–44 year olds since 2008—greater than for other ages since 2016—has thinned the cohort most likely to have young children.
- Falling rolls have led to around 100 school closures since 2018, mostly in inner London, and the report urges repurposing rather than selling empty school sites as GLA projections show child numbers declining until about 2034 before returning only to 2024 levels.