Mean age at childbearing for women born 1920 to 1990, UK
Average (mean) age at childbearing
Large changes in the number of births from the 1950s to 1980s were partly the result of changes in the ages at which women gave birth. Average (mean) age of mothers at childbirth fell from 28.7 years for women born in 1920 to a low of 26.0 years for women born in the mid-1940s. Since then average age at childbirth has risen and is projected to increase to over 29 years for women born in the late 1970s onwards.
Women born in the 1940s had the lowest average age at childbirth, and these women contributed to the 1960s 'baby boom'. They went on to have a larger family size than women born in the 1950s onwards.
In England and Wales the average age at first birth fell from around 25.5 years for women born at the start of the 1920s to around 23.8 years for women born in the early 1940s. Among more recent generations, childbearing is starting later and women are having fewer children. The average age at first birth for women born in the second half of the 1950s, who have recently completed their childbearing, has climbed back to the levels of women born in the early 1920s.
Completed family size for women born 1920 to 1990, UK
Completed family size
Family size increased from 2.07 children for women born in 1920 to a peak of 2.46 children for women born in 1934. This peak corresponds with the 1960s 'baby boom'. Family size declined for subsequent generations and is projected to decline to around 1.74 children for women born in the mid-1980s.
Women born in 1955, and now at the end of their childbearing years, had an average of 2.03 children. Within the current 25 EU countries, family size for this generation of women was highest in the Irish Republic (2.67 children) and lowest in Germany (1.67 children).
The decline in family size in the UK among women born in the mid-1930s onwards is the result both of fewer women having large families and more women remaining childless.
In England and Wales, 31 per cent of women born in 1920 had given birth to three or more children by the end of their childbearing years. This increased to around 40 per cent for women born in the 1930s. The percentage of women having three or more children then dropped rapidly to a level of around 30 per cent, where it has remained for the 1945-born generation onwards.
Some women remain childless. Twenty-one per cent of women born in 1920 were childless at the end of their childbearing years. This declined to a low of 9 per cent for women born in 1945 and 1946. It increased subsequently, and will be just under 20 per cent for women that are soon to complete their childbearing years.
Sources: Birth registrations England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland 1935 to 2002: Office for National Statistics, General Register Office for Scotland, Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency Birth order, England & Wales: Office for National Statistics, UK 2002-based national population projections, 2003 to 2035: Government Actuary’s Department Completed family size, EU: Council of Europe
The following articles can be found by following the 'Population Trends' link on the right-hand side of the page. Please download the appropriate volume for each article: PT108: New estimates of trends in births by birth order in England and Wales. PT109: The effect of changes in timing of childbearing on measuring fertility in England and Wales. PT112: Family building intentions in England and Wales: trends, outcomes and interpretations. PT114: Fertility assumptions for the 2002-based national population projections.
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