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This page presents information about trends in indicators related to best start in life.

Table of contents

Children achieving a good level of development at age 2

Persons, 2-2.5 years

Time period North East Value 95% confidence interval lower limit 95% confidence interval upper limit England Value
2017/18 85.6 85.1 86.1 83.3
2018/19 87.6 87.2 88.1 84.1
2019/20 87.4 87.0 87.9 83.3
2020/21 87.2 86.8 87.7 82.9
2021/22 83.8 83.3 84.3 81.1
2022/23 82.7 82.2 83.2 79.2
2023/24 84.4 83.9 84.9 80.4

You can find more information about this indicator and related data on our Fingertips website. Fingertips is a data platform that contains a large range of indicators organised into topics, such as tobacco, mental health, and mortality.

View children achieving a good level of development at age 2 data.

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Source: Office for Health Improvement and Disparities using interim reporting of health visiting metrics

The line chart shows the percentage of children who were at least at the expected level in all Ages and Stages Questionnaire domains at 2 to 2½ years. The proportion in the North East decreased from 85.6% in the financial year ending 2018 to 84.4% in the financial year ending 2024.


Teenage pregnancy

Female, <18 years

Time period North East Value 95% confidence interval lower limit 95% confidence interval upper limit England Value
1998 56.5 54.4 58.7 46.6
1999 55.3 53.2 57.4 44.8
2000 50.8 48.9 52.9 43.6
2001 48.3 46.4 50.3 42.5
2002 51.2 49.3 53.3 42.8
2003 52.4 50.4 54.5 42.1
2004 51.2 49.2 53.2 41.6
2005 50.5 48.6 52.6 41.4
2006 49.1 47.1 51.1 40.6
2007 52.8 50.8 54.9 41.4
2008 48.0 46.1 50.0 39.7
2009 45.7 43.8 47.6 37.1
2010 43.5 41.6 45.5 34.2
2011 38.4 36.6 40.2 30.7
2012 35.5 33.8 37.3 27.8
2013 30.7 29.1 32.3 24.4
2014 30.3 28.7 32.0 22.9
2015 28.2 26.6 29.8 20.9
2016 24.8 23.3 26.4 19.0
2017 24.8 23.3 26.4 17.8
2018 24.9 23.3 26.5 16.6
2019 21.6 20.2 23.1 15.5
2020 18.5 17.2 19.9 12.8
2021 19.7 18.4 21.1 13.1

You can find more information about this indicator and related data on our Fingertips website. Fingertips is a data platform that contains a large range of indicators organised into topics, such as tobacco, mental health, and mortality.

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Source: OHID, based on Office for National Statistics data

The line chart shows the rate of conceptions in females aged under 18. The crude rate in the North East decreased from 56.5 per 1,000 in 1998 to 19.7 per 1,000 in 2021.


Low birth weight of term babies

Persons, >=37 weeks gestational age at birth

Time period North East Value 95% confidence interval lower limit 95% confidence interval upper limit England Value
2006 3.1 2.9 3.3 3.0
2007 2.8 2.6 3.0 2.9
2008 2.9 2.7 3.1 2.9
2009 2.6 2.4 2.8 2.9
2010 2.8 2.6 3.0 2.9
2011 2.7 2.5 2.9 2.8
2012 2.7 2.5 2.9 2.8
2013 3.0 2.8 3.2 2.8
2014 3.0 2.8 3.2 2.9
2015 2.8 2.6 3.0 2.8
2016 3.0 2.8 3.2 2.8
2017 3.1 2.9 3.3 2.8
2018 3.3 3.0 3.5 2.9
2019 3.1 2.9 3.3 2.9
2020 3.2 3.0 3.4 2.9
2021 2.7 2.5 3.0 2.8
2022 3.0 2.8 3.2 2.9

You can find more information about this indicator and related data on our Fingertips website. Fingertips is a data platform that contains a large range of indicators organised into topics, such as tobacco, mental health, and mortality.

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Source: Office for National Statistics

The line chart shows the percentage of full term babies who had a birth weight under 2500 grams. The proportion in the North East changed from 3.1% in 2006 to 3.0% in 2022.


Babies whose first feed is breastmilk

Persons, newborn

Time period North East Value 95% confidence interval lower limit 95% confidence interval upper limit England Value
2020/21 63.9 63.2 64.6 71.7
2021/22 62.4 61.7 63.0 72.2
2022/23 54.9 54.3 55.6 71.8
2023/24 56.5 55.8 57.1 71.9

You can find more information about this indicator and related data on our Fingertips website. Fingertips is a data platform that contains a large range of indicators organised into topics, such as tobacco, mental health, and mortality.

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Source: Maternity Services Dataset (MSDS v2.0)

The line chart shows the percentage of babies whose first feed is breastmilk. The proportion in the North East decreased from 63.9% in the financial year ending 2021 to 56.5% in the financial year ending 2024.


Infant mortality

Persons, <1 yr

Time period North East Value 95% confidence interval lower limit 95% confidence interval upper limit England Value
2001 - 03 5.1 4.6 5.6 5.4
2002 - 04 4.8 4.4 5.3 5.2
2003 - 05 4.7 4.2 5.1 5.1
2004 - 06 4.9 4.5 5.4 5.0
2005 - 07 4.9 4.4 5.3 4.9
2006 - 08 4.8 4.3 5.2 4.8
2007 - 09 4.2 3.8 4.7 4.7
2008 - 10 4.0 3.6 4.4 4.6
2009 - 11 3.7 3.4 4.2 4.4
2010 - 12 3.7 3.3 4.1 4.3
2011 - 13 3.5 3.1 3.9 4.1
2012 - 14 3.6 3.3 4.1 4.0
2013 - 15 3.6 3.2 4.0 3.9
2014 - 16 3.7 3.3 4.1 3.9
2015 - 17 3.3 2.9 3.7 3.9
2016 - 18 3.3 3.0 3.8 3.9
2017 - 19 3.4 3.0 3.8 3.9
2018 - 20 3.5 3.1 3.9 3.9
2019 - 21 3.5 3.1 4.0 3.9
2020 - 22 3.8 3.4 4.3 3.9

You can find more information about this indicator and related data on our Fingertips website. Fingertips is a data platform that contains a large range of indicators organised into topics, such as tobacco, mental health, and mortality.

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Source: Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (based on Office for National Statistics source data)

The line chart shows the rate of infant deaths aged under 1 year per 1,000 live births. The crude rate in the North East decreased from 5.1 per 1,000 in 2001 to 2003 to 3.8 per 1,000 in 2020 to 2022.


Dental decay at age 5

Persons, 5 years

Time period North East Value 95% confidence interval lower limit 95% confidence interval upper limit England Value
2007/08 39.8 38.0 41.6 30.9
2008/09 NA NA NA NA
2009/10 NA NA NA NA
2010/11 NA NA NA NA
2011/12 29.7 29.0 30.3 27.9
2012/13 NA NA NA NA
2013/14 NA NA NA NA
2014/15 28.0 26.3 29.6 24.7
2015/16 NA NA NA NA
2016/17 23.9 23.2 24.5 23.3
2017/18 NA NA NA NA
2018/19 23.3 21.9 24.8 23.4
2019/20 NA NA NA NA
2020/21 NA NA NA NA
2021/22 22.2 20.8 23.8 23.7

You can find more information about this indicator and related data on our Fingertips website. Fingertips is a data platform that contains a large range of indicators organised into topics, such as tobacco, mental health, and mortality.

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Source: Dental Public Health Epidemiology Programme for England: oral health survey of five year old children (Biennial publication - latest report 2022) (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/oral-health#surveys-and-intelligence:-children)

The line chart shows the percentage of 5 year olds with observed dental decay extending to the dentine layer. The proportion in the North East decreased from 39.8% in the financial year ending 2008 to 22.2% in the financial year ending 2022.


Emergency hospital admissions for injuries in children, ages under 15

Persons, <15 years

Time period North East Value 95% confidence interval lower limit 95% confidence interval upper limit England Value
2010/11 158.0 154.2 161.8 115.2
2011/12 172.9 169.0 176.9 118.3
2012/13 147.0 143.5 150.7 104.0
2013/14 158.9 155.2 162.8 112.5
2014/15 163.1 159.3 166.9 110.1
2015/16 149.5 145.9 153.2 104.9
2016/17 147.4 143.8 151.0 102.4
2017/18 131.6 128.1 134.9 97.8
2018/19 129.1 125.8 132.5 98.1
2019/20 134.3 130.9 137.7 93.6
2020/21 102.3 99.4 105.4 78.2
2021/22 128.5 125.2 131.9 84.3
2022/23 116.0 112.8 119.2 75.3

You can find more information about this indicator and related data on our Fingertips website. Fingertips is a data platform that contains a large range of indicators organised into topics, such as tobacco, mental health, and mortality.

View emergency hospital admissions for injuries in children, ages under 15 data.

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Source: Office for Health Improvement and Disparities using NHS England Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) and Office for National Statistics (ONS) mid year population estimates

The line chart shows the rate of emergency hospital admissions for injuries in children aged under 15 years. The crude rate in the North East decreased from 158.0 per 10,000 in the financial year ending 2011 to 116.0 per 10,000 in the financial year ending 2023.