Australia’s Total Fertility Rate Reaches 25-Year High

August 10, 2008

Article Date: 08 Aug 2008 - 5:00 PDT

Australia’s total fertility rate reached its highest point in 25 years in 2007, according to a report released Tuesday by the Productivity Commission, a government agency, Reuters reports. There were 285,000 births in the country last year, up from 261,400 in 2005 (Reuters, 8/6). The country’s total fertility rate for 2007 is 1.93 infants per woman, Australia’s Advertiser reports (Moscaritolo, Advertiser, 8/6). According to the report, “Australia appears to be in a ’safe zone’ of fertility, despite fertility levels being below replacement levels. There is no fertility crisis” (Ryan, Australian, 8/6).

The country’s former conservative government in 2004 instituted incentives for having children, including a bonus for having a child that currently stands at 5,000 Australian dollars, or about $4,550. The report found that the bonus is likely only partially responsible for the increased birth rate. Report author Ralph Lattimore said, “Much of the increase in the fertility rate is likely to reflect the fact that over the last few decades, younger women postponed childbearing and many are now having those postponed babies” (Reuters, 8/6). The report listed as other significant influences on the increase a rise in average household income, a flexible job market and “optimism about the future” (Advertiser, 8/6).

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