Australia’s fertility rate has dropped below 1.5 babies per woman for the first time ever.
Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) this week showed there were 286,998 births registered in Australia in 2023, resulting in a total fertility rate (TFR) of 1.50 babies per woman, rounded up from 1.499.
ABS head of demography statistics Beidar Cho said the record low total fertility rate was because there were fewer births in most states and territories.
Ms Cho said Western Australia had the highest TFR (1.57 babies per woman) in 2023, closely followed by New South Wales and the Northern Territory (1.55). In Queensland, it was 1.54.
She said the Australian Capital Territory had the lowest total fertility rate in 2023, with 1.31 babies per woman.
“Only Tasmania saw an increase in TFR since 2022, growing from 1.49 to 1.51 babies per woman.”
Ms Cho said in 2023, the total fertility rate for mothers who were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander was 2.17 babies per woman.
“There were 24,737 births registered where at least one parent was an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian, which makes up 8.6 percent of all births,” she said.
Ms Cho said over the past 30 years, the TFR had slowly dropped from 1.86 in 1993.
“This decline was most prominent among women aged 15 to 19 years where the age-specific fertility rate fell by more than two-thirds, to 6.2 per 1000 women.
“The age-specific fertility rate of women aged 20 to 24 years also saw a large decline.”
She said in contrast, the age-specific fertility rate of women aged 40 to 44 years almost doubled, to 15.1 per 1000 women, when compared with 30 years ago, while women aged 30 to 34 years continued to have the highest age-specific fertility rate (105.2 babies per 1000 women), followed by women aged 25 to 29 years (74.9 babies per 1000 women).
“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 to 31.9 years, and a fall in Australia’s total fertility rate,” Ms Cho said.
