Lowest number of births seen in Australia for the past 10 years

Lowest births in Australia for the past 10 years

Georgia Allan 05 Nov, 2015

According to ABS births data, there were 299,697 babies born in Australia in 2014. This was a small decrease from the 308,065 recorded in 2013. So what does the ABS data tell us about the babies of 2014 and their parents?

To start, 51.2% of all new arrivals were male, and 48.8% were female. The median age of mothers was 30.9 years and 33.0 years for fathers. The total fertility rate (TFR) for Australia in 2014 was 1.79 children per woman. While it is the lowest number of births seen in Australia for the past 10 years, fertility is still above the low recorded in 2001 of 1.72 children per woman.

Let’s have a look at the state breakdown of fertility:

	NSW	Vic	Qld	SA	WA	Tas	NT	ACT
Number of births	91,074	74,224	63,066	20,384	35,403	5,935	4,026	5,552
Median age of mothers	31.2	31.5	30.1	30.6	30.6	29.6	28.9	31.6
Median age of fathers	33.4	33.6	32.1	32.8	32.8	31.7	31.6	33.7
Total Fertility Rate	1.73	1.73	1.91	1.86	1.87	1.99	2.10	1.77

While NSW and Victoria have the highest number of births, they have the lowest fertility rate, due to their large populations. The Northern Territory had the highest fertility rate of 2.1 children per woman, around replacement level. The higher fertility rate in NT is related to the higher fertility rate among Indigenous people. The oldest parents are located in ACT.

The table below shows the LGAs with the highest fertility rate by state:

	NSW		Vic		Qld		SA		WA		Tas		NT
	LGA	TFR	LGA	TFR	LGA	TFR	LGA	TFR	LGA	TFR	LGA	TFR	LGA	TFR
1	Bourke	3.58	Loddon	2.64	Flinders	4.24	Cleve	4.76	Corrigin	4.93	Tasman	2.79	Katherine	2.78
2	Jerilderie	3.52	Moira	2.54	Cherbourg	4.11	Wudinna	3.41	Pingelly	3.93	Brighton	2.60	West Daly	2.50
3	Brewarrina	3.03	Swan Hill	2.54	Aurukun	3.84	Barunga West	3.29	Beverley	3.48	Huon Valley	2.46	Palmerston	2.48
4	Bombala	3.01	Corangamite	2.52	Palm Island	3.79	Kimba	3.20	Gnowangerup	3.48	Derwent Valley	2.36	Litchfield	2.47
5	Central Darling	2.98	Hindmarsh	2.50	Lockhart River	3.66	Orroroo	3.03	Broomehill-Tambellup	3.43	King Island	2.36	Central Desert	2.38

The majority of LGAs with high fertility rates are in rural areas, with the highest rate occurring in Corrigin, WA, with 4.76 children per woman. High fertility rates in rural and regional areas is a global trend and unlikely to change due to the different demographics in these areas.

Births data is vital to what we do here at .id, especially our forecasting work, so we’d like to take this opportunity to thank the sometimes forgotten collectors of this data – the ward clerks, midwives and birth registrars that work in the maternity units around Australia.

Tags: Population

Georgia Allan

Georgia completed a Masters in Population Studies and Demography at Flinders University in Adelaide. At .id, Georgia is a consultant in .id's housing team. She was heavily involved in the creation and continued development of housing.id, the online tool developed to give councils an accessible evidence base for planning and advocacy. Georgia has prepared housing demand and supply analysis for a range of councils, including those in inner-city, middle ring, growth and peri-urban areas. When not in the office, she is likely to be cooking, knitting, crocheting, or buried in a good book.

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