Overview

• IVF births reached almost 21,000 in 2023, accounting for 3.1% of all UK births and equating to one in 32 children born via treatment.
• The share of NHS-funded IVF cycles fell from 35% in 2019 to 27% in 2023, with England at 24%, Wales at 33%, Northern Ireland at 49% and Scotland at 54%.
• Eleven percent of births to women aged 40–44 resulted from IVF in 2023, up from 4% in 2000, reflecting a trend toward later parenthood.
• The number of women freezing their eggs climbed from 4,700 in 2022 to 6,900 in 2023, though use of stored samples remains low.
• HFEA data reveal lower IVF success rates for Asian and black patients, prompting calls for targeted action to close ethnic outcome gaps.