Australia’s “baby recession” has deepened, with new data revealing the nation’s fertility rate has fallen to a record low.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported that in 2024, women gave birth to an average of just 1.48 children, down from 2023.
The data also shows parents are having children later in life, with the median age of mothers at 32.1 and fathers at 33.9.
Over the past decade, the median age of mothers has risen by 1.2 years, and fathers by 0.9 years.
Beidar Cho, head of demography at the ABS, said the trend towards older parenthood reflects broader social and economic shifts, including greater access to education and higher workforce participation by women.
“It also shows evolving patterns in how and when people choose to start families compared to previous generations.”
Despite 292,318 registered births in 2024 – a 1.9 per cent increase on 2023 – fertility rates have fallen sharply across every state and territory since 2019.
The Australian Capital Territory recorded the lowest rate at 1.27, placing it among the world’s lowest, while New South Wales saw its lowest number of registered births in 20 years.
Australia’s replacement rate – the number of children needed per woman to maintain the population without immigration – is 2.1. With fertility declining, the country relies increasingly on migration to grow its population, though net overseas migration fell to 341,000 in 2024, down 37 per cent from a 2022-23 peak.
Economic pressures are also influencing family decisions. Georgie Dent, CEO of advocacy group The Parenthood, said in a statement the high cost of living is forcing many Australians to have fewer children than they would ideally like.
“Starting or expanding a family has become an economic risk for many people.”
Dent urged more government support, including expanded paid parental leave, universal early childhood education, and workplace flexibility.
“These are the kind of supports that would actually give people genuine choice and financial breathing room.”
Births fell across most states in 2024, with Western Australia seeing the largest drop of 4.7 per cent. Victoria recorded the largest increase at 12.9 per cent, largely due to improvements in birth registration processing. The median age of mothers was highest in the ACT at 32.8 years, while fathers were oldest in Victoria at 34.4 years.
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