New Zealand’s fertility rate slumped to a record low in 2023, official data shows, as the total number of births also dropped.
The fertility rate tracks the average number of births women will have in their lifetime. New Zealand, along with many countries around the world, has seen this number drop as factors like education, participation in the workforce, and access to contraception contribute to women having fewer children.
Statistics NZ data released on Monday found there were 1,932 fewer babies born in the year ending December 2023 than in the year before, the lowest number of registered births in 20 years. The drop was despite a 3% increase in the number of women between 15 and 49 years old, the ages at which most children are born.
The combination of fewer births and more women in the population led to the fertility rate hitting a record low of 1.56 births per woman. In 2022, the rate was 1.66, and it remains far below the 2.1 needed to replace population numbers in the long term.
“The latest decline reflects a continued trend of smaller average family-sizes and increased rates of childlessness, although the total fertility rate is also affected by changes in the age of giving birth,” said Rebekah Hennessey, Stats NZ’s population insights analyst.
The median age of people giving birth is 31.3 years old, compared with 31.2 in 2022. Since 1999, the age has remained stable at about 30 years, compared to the 1970s, where the median age was closer to 25.
https://www.stats.govt.nz/news/lowest-natural-increase-in-80-years/
