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By Liam Verster

2024 Births Report

Local birth rates decline on an annual basis, provincial rate hits record low

Jan 21, 2025 | 9:10 AM

The local birth rates declined on an annual basis in 2024.

Vital Statistics, B.C.’s data collection agency, reported a total of 354 births in the Vernon Centre/Coldstream health area last year.

That figure was down from 2023’s total of 429 births, and was the lowest figure on record when compared to the previous five years.

The other health areas within the North Okanagan, with the exception of Enderby, also saw births decrease on a year-over-year basis in 2024.

A breakdown of the births by local health area in the North and Central Okanagan can be seen below.

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Local Health Area	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019
Vernon Centre/Coldstream	354	429	410	438	412	455
North Okanagan/Lumby	89	113	98	134	100	101
Armstrong/Spallumcheen	97	99	90	92	77	79
Enderby	89	60	61	81	71	69
Lake Country	139	125	153	143	144	134
Glenmore	314	315	310	350	288	272
Downtown Kelowna	331	293	314	339	280	259
Rutland	399	384	368	371	368	372
Okanagan Mission	161	137	148	195	158	161
West Kelowna	364	368	394	394	380	343
Salmon Arm	265	229	265	255	248	268

Meanwhile, Vital Statistics reported a total of 41,220 births throughout British Columbia in 2024.

That total was down from the previous year’s 41,403 births across the province.

It was also B.C.’s lowest total births Vital Statistics began data collection in 2007.

Vital Statistics provided the 2024 figures Monday, Jan. 20, noting the data was preliminary and subject to change.

by Liam Verster