AUSTRALIA'S FERTILITY RATE

According to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Australia's total fertility rate (TFR) in 2004 was 1.77 babies per woman, slightly higher than in 2003 (1.75). Over the past six years the TFR has been relatively stable, varying between 1.73 and 1.77 since 1998 but still well below the replacement rate of 2.1.

For the fifth consecutive year, women aged 30-34 years experienced the highest fertility of all age groups, with a rate of 114.4 babies per 1,000 women. Women aged 25-29 years experienced the second highest fertility in 2004 (102.5 babies per 1,000 women).

The fertility rates for younger women aged 20-24 years continued to decline during 2004. Fertility for this age group has almost halved over the past twenty years, from 103 babies per 1,000 women in 1983 to 53.4 babies per 1,000 women in 2004.

To compound the problem of declining birth rates in Australia, the fertility of women aged 25-29 years has also fallen by nearly 30%, from 146 babies per 1,000 women in 1983 to 102.5 babies per 1,000 women in 2004.

Although the fertility of women aged 35-39 years has more than doubled over the past two decades, from 25 babies per 1,000 women in 1983 to 57.4 babies per 1,000 women in 2004, this does not make up for the alarming drop in fertility rates of the younger age groups.

The Northern Territory recorded the highest TFR in 2004 (2.24 babies per woman) while the Australian Capital Territory recorded the lowest (1.64). The graph below shows the dramatic drop in TFR between the early 1960s and the present day.

TOTAL FERTILITY RATE (a), Australia

In 2004 there were 254,200 births registered in Australia with the median age of all women who registered a birth in 2004 being 30.6 years.

For further information regarding births in Australia, visit the website of the Australian Bureau of Statistics on this link.

Information provided by Prof. John S. Croucher, MGSM, Macquarie University.