CANBERRA, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- Australia's fertility rate fell to a new record-low for the second straight year in 2024, official data published on Wednesday revealed.
According to the data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the total fertility rate in Australia was a record-low 1.481 births per woman in 2024.
It marks the second consecutive year that the fertility rate has been the lowest since records began in 1924, after the figure was 1.499 births per woman in 2023.
The ABS said that the total fertility rate has been below the replacement rate, considered to be around 2.1 babies per woman to replace a mother and her partner in the absence of overseas migration, since 1976.
The median age of parents at the time of their child's birth rose to 32.1 years for women and 33.9 years for men in Australia in 2024, both record-highs.
Beidar Cho, ABS head of demography, said that the median age has increased by 1.2 years for mothers since 2014 and by 0.9 years for fathers.
In the decade before 2014, the median age only rose by 0.3 years for mothers and 0.2 years for fathers, she said.
Cho said that the shift towards older parenthood reflects broader social changes and economic shifts, including more time spent in education and higher workforce participation among women. ■
