CANBERRA, Dec 8 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Australia’s fertility rate has fallen to the lowest level on record, amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to data, published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) today, there were 294,369 babies born in Australia in 2020, a 3.7 percent decrease from 2019.
As a result, the total fertility rate (TFR) was 1.58 babies per woman, the lowest figure since records began in 1932.
It represents a 55.4 percent decline in TFR from a peak of 3.55 babies per woman in 1961.
For women aged 15-19 the TFR declined by nearly two-thirds, since 1990, while it has also fallen significantly for those aged 20-24.
In contrast, the fertility rate for women aged 40-44 almost tripled in the same time period, reflecting that Australians are waiting longer to have children.
Women aged 30-34 had the highest TFR at 110 babies per 1,000 women.
“The record low total fertility rate can be attributed to fewer births and birth registrations in most jurisdictions in a year, marked by COVID-19 disruptions,” Beidar Cho, director of demography at the ABS, said in a media release.
“The long-term decline in fertility of younger mums, as well as, the continued increase in fertility of older mums, reflects a shift towards later childbearing. Together, this has resulted in a rise in median age of mothers (31.6 years) and a fall in Australia’s total fertility rate.”– NNN-AGENCIES
