Australian women are giving birth to fewer children and waiting longer to have them, continuing a trend seen over the past four decades.
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The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed a three per cent decrease in the number of births in 2022 compared with 2021.
ABS head of demography Emily Walter said the data also showed the average age of mothers and fathers had continued to steadily increase since the mid-1970s.
"In 1975, less than 20 per cent of births were to mothers who were between 30 and 39 years old, but now nearly 60 per cent of births are to mothers in this age group," she said.
There were 300,684 registered births in 2022, with a fertility rate of 1.63 births per woman.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women continue to have a higher fertility rate, with 2.35 births per woman.
Ms Walter said although overall fertility rates were low, the rate for women in their late 30s and early 40s had significantly increased.
"From 1991 to 2022, the fertility rate of mothers aged 35 to 39 years has almost doubled from 36.0 to 69.3 births per 1000 women," she said.
"And for mothers aged 40 to 44 years, it has nearly tripled from 5.5 to 15.8 births per 1000 women."
In contrast, the fertility rate of teenage mothers reached an all-time low of 6.8 births per 1000 women, down from 22.1 births in 1991.
Women are waiting until later in life to have children, reflected in the falling fertility rates for those under 30 and rising rates for older women.
The bureau said the shift largely followed young people tending to reach milestones, such as leaving the family home, gaining economic independence and getting married, later than in decades gone by.
Australian Associated Press
