77 thousand first-time fathers in 2024

© Nikki van Toorn (CBS)
A total of 77 thousand men became fathers for the first time in 2024, at an average age of 32.9. The Netherlands has a total of 4.2 million fathers. This is reported by Statistics Netherlands (CBS) on the basis of provisional figures.

Men who became first-time fathers in 2024 were on average two and a half years older than women who became first-time mothers (30.4 years). The fathers of all babies born in 2024 were on average 34.4 years old, which is also two and a half years older than the average age of the mothers (31.8 years) in the same year.

The average age at which people become parents has continued to increase over the past decade. In 2014, fathers were an average of 0.4 years younger when their first child was born than they were in 2024, while for mothers the difference was 0.7 years.

Average age of parents when children are born
YearsFathers - at birth of first child (years)Fathers - at birth of all children (years)Mothers - at birth of first child (years)Mothers - at birth of all children (years)
199631.633.028.930.3
199731.733.129.030.4
199831.933.329.130.6
199931.933.329.130.6
200032.033.529.130.7
200132.133.629.230.8
200232.233.729.230.9
200332.333.829.331.0
200432.534.029.431.0
200532.534.029.431.1
200632.534.129.431.1
200732.534.129.431.1
200832.434.129.431.1
200932.434.029.431.0
201032.434.029.431.0
201132.434.029.431.0
201232.434.029.431.0
201332.434.029.431.0
201432.534.029.531.1
201532.534.129.631.1
201632.634.129.731.2
201732.734.229.831.3
201832.734.229.931.4
201932.834.330.031.5
202032.934.430.131.6
202132.834.430.331.7
202232.834.330.331.7
202332.934.430.331.8
2024*32.934.430.431.8
* provisional figures

Most first-time fathers are in their thirties

Nearly two-thirds of the 77 thousand men who became fathers for the first time in 2024 were aged between 30 and 40. Twenty-five percent were under the age of 30.

A relatively small percentage of men have their first or next child before the age of 25. In the past five years, 3.5 thousand babies were born each year to fathers under the age of 25, and an estimated 350 were teenage fathers. There are relatively few men who have children after the age of 50. In 2024, 2.5 thousand children had a father aged 50 or older, more than a third of whom were first-time fathers.

Average age of father at birth of first child, 2024*
LeeftijdFathers - at birth of first child (%)Fathers - at birth of all children (%)
Aged under 254.62.7
25-29 yrs20.814.5
30-34 yrs41.237.1
35-39 yrs23.030.1
40-44 yrs7.211.1
45-49 yrs2.23.1
Aged 50 yrs or older1.21.5
* provisional figures

Fewer fathers than mothers, particularly in the youngest and oldest age groups

In total, there were an estimated 4.2 million fathers in the Netherlands in 2024 (including both young and adult children). There were fewer fathers than mothers (4.9 million). Men become fathers at an older age than women become mothers, which is why the difference between the number of fathers and mothers is the most significant among those aged under 25. There were more than three times as many mothers (24 thousand) as fathers (7.7 thousand) in this age group. Among those aged between 25 and 35, there were more than one and a half times as many.

The difference is smaller in the 35-75 age group, after which it increases again. This is mainly because women live longer than men, on average. There were more than one and a half times as many mothers as fathers aged 85 or older.

The lower number of fathers is also due to the fact that the name of the father is not always recorded in the Personal Records Database (see last paragraph), and that slightly more men than women remain childless.

Average age of fathers and mothers, 1 January 2025
LeeftijdFathers (x 1,000)Mothers (x 1,000)
Aged under 257.724.0
25-34 yrs266.5424.1
35-44 yrs718.6857.5
45-54 yrs808.4906.4
55-64 yrs935.51003.9
65-74 yrs778.7842.6
75-84 yrs542.0632.5
Aged 85 or older142.4238.5

Father not always known

Statistics Netherlands (CBS) counts the number of legal fathers. These are fathers who are married or in a registered partnership with the child’s mother, or who have acknowledged their child legally. For nearly 5 percent of children, no father is recorded in the Personal Records Database in the year of birth. In many of these cases, the father acknowledges parenthood later. For example, among children born in 2020, the father was unknown in 4.7 percent of cases, but five years later that share had fallen to 3.5 percent.