…Records Lowest Levels in 17 years
By Kwedu News
Australian authorities say the nation’s 2023 birth rate has plummeted to alarming levels, registering a record low in almost two decades.
They say 286,998 births were recorded, down by about 14 000 (4.6%) from the previous year, 2022, marking the lowest birth rate in 17 years.
Australian ABS data states that the fertility rate in the country now stands at 1.5 births per woman, below the 2.1 births per woman needed for a natural population balance, without immigration.
Australian Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, acknowledged the financial challenges of having children which might be contributing to the low rates.
“It can be expensive to have kids… affordability is a big part of that challenge,” he said.
Chalmers assured that government is committed to making early childhood education more affordable to combat the declining fertility rate.
“That has been a long-term trend and there are reasons for that, including good reasons for it, as I said before, it can be expensive to have kids.
“People make their own decisions for their own reasons, my job is to make sure people can have the choice whether to have more kids or not,” he said.
Only Western Australia and Tasmania saw increases in birth rates in the period under review, with 553 and 69 more babies born, respectively.
The median age for new mothers is 31.9, and fathers is 33.8, the report shows.
