Cape Town is the baby-making capital of the world

10 June 2022 - 07:00
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Cape Town has the highest birth rate in the world, according to a new study. Stock photo.
Cape Town has the highest birth rate in the world, according to a new study. Stock photo.
Image: 123RF/ sam74100

When it comes to making babies, SA comes in tops, with Cape Town parents making the most babies in the world. 

According to the DC Jewellery's Cities of Love 2022 research, there are 20 births per 1,000 in the Mother City.

The research looks at the most loving cities about the world, looking into the 100 most popular tourist destinations.

Hopefully, we don't have to explain to you what birth rates have to do with how loving a city is,” the report jokes.

Research using Instagram posts, Google searches, World Bank data and The William’s Institute’s Gay Acceptance Index created a combined score to reveal which cities are the best for “loved-up couples” to visit. 

According to the research, after Cape Town is Istanbul and Sydney.

The research comes from data in 2019.

“The residents of Cape Town certainly aren’t afraid of getting intimate, with the highest birth rate of all the cities on the list of 20 per 1,000 people. SA’s death rate is 9.3 deaths per 1,000 people, meaning that the birth rate is more than double the death rate there,” the research found.

“Istanbul, Turkey, ranks second on our list of cities with the most babies. The country's overall birth rate was stated higher than all European countries as it saw a total of 1,183, 652 live births in 2019, of which 51.3% were boys and 48.7% girls, as per Turkey's Statistical Institute.

The Turkish capital has a birth rate of 16 births per 1,000 people, thanks to its relatively large population of young people getting down to it. Despite falling in recent years, the birth rate in Istanbul still outpaces that of other European cities.

In Australia, Sydney and Melbourne are at the top of the list.

“In fact, Australia is in the midst of a baby boom as its number of births is setting new records this decade — exceeding 300,000 births per year, every year since 2008.

“Sydney ranks third for this factor with 12 births per 1,000 people as of 2019, which equates to 1.58 births per woman. Similarly to Istanbul, the birth rate has dropped in recent years, so much so that the population has begun to shrink.”

Next in line are:

  • Melbourne, Australia — 12 per 1,000 people
  • Dublin, Ireland — 12 per 1,000 people
  • London, United Kingdom — 11 per 1,000 people
  • San Francisco, US — 11 per 1,000 people
  • Edinburgh, United Kingdom — 11 per 1,000 people
  • Paris, France — 11 per 1,000 people
  • Las Vegas, US — 11 per 1,000 people.

The research found that Paris was the most popular city to propose, with more than 47,000 Instagram posts dedicated to the momentous occasion.  

Amsterdam has a proud history of supporting LGBTQI+ rights, decriminalising homosexuality in 1811, according to the report. The Dutch capital almost scored full marks with a “gay acceptance” score of 9.46 out of 10.  

Dublin was the city most likely to get down on one knee, with 1,624 online searches for engagement rings per 100,000 people in 2021.

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