Figure 4.1 below presents the number of women in the main child-bearing age group, 15 to 44 years, while Figure 4.2 presents the average number of children born to women in the same group, for 2011 and 2016.
The average number of children born to all women aged 15 years or over has decreased marginally over the five years, from 1.83 children per woman in 2011 to 1.82 in 2016. The rate has decreased slightly for nearly all the ages.
By contrast the total number of women aged 15 to 44 has decreased by 3.2 per cent from 971,087 to 939,866 over the same period. In the peak childbearing years of 30 to 34 the decrease was sharper, declining by 6.4 per cent from 192,626 to 180,221.
| 2016 | 2011 | |
| 15 | 25659 | 23713 |
| 16 | 26050 | 24187 |
| 17 | 26902 | 24485 |
| 18 | 26714 | 25322 |
| 19 | 25795 | 26196 |
| 20 | 24679 | 26785 |
| 21 | 24210 | 26409 |
| 22 | 24661 | 26954 |
| 23 | 24513 | 28334 |
| 24 | 25456 | 29994 |
| 25 | 26202 | 31879 |
| 26 | 26551 | 33402 |
| 27 | 27031 | 35888 |
| 28 | 29244 | 38424 |
| 29 | 31094 | 39357 |
| 30 | 32906 | 40209 |
| 31 | 33988 | 39881 |
| 32 | 35997 | 38904 |
| 33 | 38276 | 37332 |
| 34 | 39054 | 36300 |
| 35 | 39743 | 35908 |
| 36 | 39672 | 35902 |
| 37 | 38490 | 35390 |
| 38 | 36695 | 35403 |
| 39 | 35792 | 34488 |
| 40 | 35235 | 33869 |
| 41 | 35267 | 33088 |
| 42 | 34902 | 31153 |
| 43 | 34869 | 31164 |
| 44 | 34219 | 30767 |
| 2016 | 2011 | |
| 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | 0.01 | 0.01 |
| 18 | 0.02 | 0.03 |
| 19 | 0.03 | 0.06 |
| 20 | 0.06 | 0.1 |
| 21 | 0.1 | 0.15 |
| 22 | 0.15 | 0.2 |
| 23 | 0.2 | 0.27 |
| 24 | 0.27 | 0.33 |
| 25 | 0.33 | 0.39 |
| 26 | 0.42 | 0.46 |
| 27 | 0.5 | 0.53 |
| 28 | 0.59 | 0.61 |
| 29 | 0.71 | 0.7 |
| 30 | 0.81 | 0.81 |
| 31 | 0.93 | 0.95 |
| 32 | 1.06 | 1.08 |
| 33 | 1.19 | 1.21 |
| 34 | 1.32 | 1.35 |
| 35 | 1.45 | 1.5 |
| 36 | 1.6 | 1.62 |
| 37 | 1.7 | 1.73 |
| 38 | 1.8 | 1.83 |
| 39 | 1.88 | 1.91 |
| 40 | 1.95 | 1.98 |
| 41 | 1.99 | 2.04 |
| 42 | 2.01 | 2.07 |
| 43 | 2.04 | 2.11 |
| 44 | 2.04 | 2.13 |
Interactive Table: StatBank Link E4095
Examining the changes in numbers of children born to women aged 45 to 64 (who are likely to have completed their child bearing years) illustrates the changes in fertility patterns between 2011 and 2016 (see Figure 4.3).
On average women aged 45 to 64 in 2011 had given birth to 2.55 children. By 2016 the figure had fallen to 2.33.
| 2016 | 2011 | |
| 0 | 17.45 | 16.39 |
| 1 | 10.58 | 8.99 |
| 2 | 27.96 | 25.28 |
| 3 | 23.68 | 23.7 |
| 4 | 12.23 | 14.2 |
| 5 | 4.68 | 6.21 |
| 6 | 1.89 | 2.8 |
| 7 | 0.79 | 1.22 |
| 8 | 0.36 | 0.58 |
| 9+ | 0.38 | 0.62 |
It's a Fact
