Women continue to postpone motherhood

30/01/2018 15:00

In 2017, the average age of first-time mothers in the Netherlands rose to 29.8 years. Due to low birth rates among women under 30 in particular, the total number of births in 2017 was again low at 169 thousand. Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports this on the basis of provisional figures.

[video: https://www.cbs.nlen-gb/video/c169363039154c25b5ceccba02cfee7f]

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Average age of mother at birth of first child
	Average age at 1st child
1970	24.3
1971	24.3
1972	24.5
1973	24.7
1974	24.8
1975	25
1976	25.1
1977	25.3
1978	25.4
1979	25.5
1980	25.6
1981	25.7
1982	25.8
1983	26
1984	26.2
1985	26.5
1986	26.8
1987	27
1988	27.2
1989	27.3
1990	27.5
1991	27.7
1992	28
1993	28.3
1994	28.4
1995	28.6
1996	28.9
1997	29
1998	29.1
1999	29.1
2000	29.1
2001	29.2
2002	29.2
2003	29.3
2004	29.4
2005	29.4
2006	29.4
2007	29.4
2008	29.4
2009	29.4
2010	29.4
2011	29.4
2012	29.4
2013	29.4
2014	29.5
2015	29.6
2016	29.7
2017*	29.8

Average age of mother at birth of first child
	Average age at 1st child
1970	24.3
1971	24.3
1972	24.5
1973	24.7
1974	24.8
1975	25
1976	25.1
1977	25.3
1978	25.4
1979	25.5
1980	25.6
1981	25.7
1982	25.8
1983	26
1984	26.2
1985	26.5
1986	26.8
1987	27
1988	27.2
1989	27.3
1990	27.5
1991	27.7
1992	28
1993	28.3
1994	28.4
1995	28.6
1996	28.9
1997	29
1998	29.1
1999	29.1
2000	29.1
2001	29.2
2002	29.2
2003	29.3
2004	29.4
2005	29.4
2006	29.4
2007	29.4
2008	29.4
2009	29.4
2010	29.4
2011	29.4
2012	29.4
2013	29.4
2014	29.5
2015	29.6
2016	29.7
2017*	29.8

The average age at which women have their first child has increased since the 1970s. This trend seemed to reach an end at the beginning of this century; for some time after 2004, the average age of first-time mothers remained stable at 29.4 years. However, this age was again pushed up further starting in 2014.

Relatively few births

Postponement of motherhood has been one of the causes of relatively low birth rates over the past several years. In 2017, the total number of births stood at 169 thousand, which is 3 thousand less than in 2016 and over 1 thousand less than in 2015. Based on these provisional figures, the number of births reached an even lower level than at the time of the previous lowest point in 1983 (170 thousand). The average number of children as well has declined further; last year, it stood at 1.61 children per woman. It was still at 1.72 children per woman in 2000 and 1.80 children in 2010.

Mainly young women postpone motherhood

The birth rate decline has been sharpest among the youngest cohort. Over the past few years in particular, young women have had relatively few babies. Among women aged 20 to 29, the number of births per one thousand women stood at 55 in 2017, as against 68 in 2010 and 73 in 2000. Furthermore, the number of teenage mothers has been falling for years and was again lower in 2017. Among women over 35, the birth rate has increased slightly instead.

Live births, age of mother
	2000 (per 1,000 women)	2010 (per 1,000 women)	2017 (preliminary figures) (per 1,000 women)
Under 20 yrs	5.54	3.84	1.98
20 to 24 yrs	36.92	32.34	22.21
25 to 29 yrs	103.9	104.08	86.49
30 to 34 yrs	135.18	138.64	130.35
35 to 39 yrs	56.53	66.34	67.88
40 yrs and over	4.63	6.14	6.26

Live births, age of mother
	2000 (per 1,000 women)	2010 (per 1,000 women)	2017 (preliminary figures) (per 1,000 women)
Under 20 yrs	5.54	3.84	1.98
20 to 24 yrs	36.92	32.34	22.21
25 to 29 yrs	103.9	104.08	86.49
30 to 34 yrs	135.18	138.64	130.35
35 to 39 yrs	56.53	66.34	67.88
40 yrs and over	4.63	6.14	6.26

Women in southern Europe: even later motherhood

Motherhood postponement is not a uniquely Dutch phenomenon. In other European countries as well, the average age of first-time mothers has increased. Dutch women occupied sixth place in 2015, after a number of southern European countries. The oldest were women in Italy and Spain with an average age of nearly 31 at the time of giving birth to their first child. Bulgarian and Romanian women were the youngest first-time mothers at around 26 years.

Average age of mother at birth of first child, Europe
	2015	2000
Italy	30.8	28.7
Spain	30.7	29.1
Switzerland	30.6	28.7
Greece	30.2	28
Luxembourg	30.2	28.3
Netherlands	29.7	28.6
Irland	29.6	27.6
Germany	29.5	28.7
Cyprus	29.5	26.2
Portugal	29.5	26.5
Denmark	29.2	27.8
Austria	29.2	26.4
Sweden	29.2	27.9
Norway	28.9	26.9
Finland	28.8	27.4
Belgium	28.7	27
Slovenia	28.7	26.5
UK	28.7	29.1
France	28.5	27.8
Croatia	28.3	25.7
Czech Rep.	28.2	25
Hungary	27.9	25.1
Iceland	27.5	25.5
Estonia	27.2	23.9
Lithuania	27.1	23.9
Slovakia	27.1	24.2
Poland	27	24.5
Latvia	26.5	24
Romania	26.3	23.6
Bulgaria	26	23.5
Source: CBS, Eurostat
Italy 2000 = 1997, Croatia 2000 = 2001, Germany 2000 = 2009

Average age of mother at birth of first child, Europe
	2015	2000
Italy	30.8	28.7
Spain	30.7	29.1
Switzerland	30.6	28.7
Greece	30.2	28
Luxembourg	30.2	28.3
Netherlands	29.7	28.6
Irland	29.6	27.6
Germany	29.5	28.7
Cyprus	29.5	26.2
Portugal	29.5	26.5
Denmark	29.2	27.8
Austria	29.2	26.4
Sweden	29.2	27.9
Norway	28.9	26.9
Finland	28.8	27.4
Belgium	28.7	27
Slovenia	28.7	26.5
UK	28.7	29.1
France	28.5	27.8
Croatia	28.3	25.7
Czech Rep.	28.2	25
Hungary	27.9	25.1
Iceland	27.5	25.5
Estonia	27.2	23.9
Lithuania	27.1	23.9
Slovakia	27.1	24.2
Poland	27	24.5
Latvia	26.5	24
Romania	26.3	23.6
Bulgaria	26	23.5
Source: CBS, Eurostat
Italy 2000 = 1997, Croatia 2000 = 2001, Germany 2000 = 2009

Sources

StatLine - Live born children: birth order, total live born children
StatLine - Average age of the mother at 1st birth, 2000-2016

Relatively few births

Mainly young women postpone motherhood

Women in southern Europe: even later motherhood

Sources

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