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Highest fertility rate in 10 years THE national fertility rate is at its highest level since 1995, according to the latest detailed births statistics released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).Australia's total fertility rate increased in 2005 to 1.81 babies per woman, up from 1.77 in 2004. All states and territories recorded increases in total fertility rates between 2004 and 2005, with Tasmania reaching replacement level fertility (2.1 babies per woman) in 2005. The number of babies registered was at its highest since 1993. The number of babies registered in 2005 (259,800) was 5,500 more than the number registered in 2004. Women aged 30-34 years continued to have the highest fertility rate of all women (117.5 babies per 1,000 women in 2005), the highest for this age group since 1964. This reflects the continuing trend of delaying motherhood. Fertility rates of young women aged 20-24 years and teenagers continued to decline, although in some states and territories, teenage fertility has increased. The median age of mothers giving birth in 2005 was 30.7 years, 3.4 years older than mothers in 1985 (27.3 years). The median age of fathers was 32.9 years, 2.8 years older than fathers in 1985 (30.1 years). While the median age of mothers has been increasing in each state and territory in recent years, in 2005 the median age of mothers declined in South Australia, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, compared to 2004. There were 12,100 births registered in Australia during 2005 where at least one parent was identified as Indigenous. The total fertility rate of Indigenous women was 2.06 in 2005, higher than that of all women (1.81). The Total Fertility Rate (TFR) represents the average number of babies that a woman could expect to bear during her reproductive lifetime if current fertility rates continued. |
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