Women in Australia are having fewer children, and having them later in life, according to the latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) released this week.
The average age of both mothers and fathers has been steadily increasing since the mid-1970s.
Less than 20 per cent of births were to mothers aged between 30 and 39 years old in 1975.
Now, as Emily Walter, ABS head of demography says, “Nearly 60 per cent of births are to mothers in this age group.”
Women are also having fewer children, with the total fertility rate slowly dropping since the mid-70s. Last year, the rate was 1.63 births per woman — lower than the 2021 rate of 1.70 births per woman.
“Although total fertility remains low, the fertility rate for women in their late 30s and early 40s has significantly increased,” Walter added.
Between 1991 to 2022, the fertility rate of mothers aged 35-39 years almost doubled from 36.0 to 69.3 births per 1,000 women.
For women aged 40-44 years, the rate has nearly tripled from 5.5 to 15.8 births per 1,000 women. The fertility rate of teenage mothers though has reached an all-time low of 6.8 births per 1,000 women. In 1991, the rate was 22.1 births per 1,000 women.
Last year, a total of 300,684 births were recorded in Australia — 9,000 less than the previous year, though higher than 2020 numbers.
The highest fertility rate cohort were women in the 30-34 years age bracket, while women in the 45-49 years cohort continue to have the lowest fertility rate.
The Northern Territory had the highest total fertility rate (1.73 babies per woman), while the ACT had the lowest total fertility rate (1.41 babies per woman).
The latest data is consistent with studies that have shown women having their first and subsequent births later in life, as well as the general trend of delayed parenthood due to other contributing factors, such as leaving the home, gaining economic stability, and marrying or forming long-term de facto relationships later than was seen in the past.
Similar trends have been noted in the US, where the proportion of women giving birth at ages 40 to 44 has been on a steady rise.