Just 2,200 girls under the age of 20 gave birth to a baby last year in the Netherlands, the lowest level ever, according to new figures from the national statistics office CBS.

This means less than 1.5% of live births in the Netherlands are to a teenage mother. In 1970, the figure was five times as high, the CBS said.

However, the teen birth rate did remain high under girls of Surinamese and Antillean origin, particularly the first generation, the CBS said.

In European terms, only Switzerland and Denmark have a lower teenage birth rate, according to Eurostat figures from 2011. Bulgaria, Romania and Britain top the ranking.

The Dutch also have a low teenage abortion rate, the CBS said. According to figures published earlier this year, there are just 8.7 abortions per 1,000 women aged between 15 and 44 in the Netherlands.