Australia’s fertility rate rebounded to pre-pandemic levels in 2020-21, according to a snapshot from the federal government’s latest population statement.
In 2020-21, the fertility rate was 1.66 babies per woman, similar to the rate recorded in 2018-19. In 2019-20, the rate had fallen to 1.61 babies per woman.
According to the report, the data suggests people “adapted to the uncertainty of the pandemic and quickly caught-up on delayed childbearing plans”.
The temporary decline in births was most evident in the December 2020 quarter, when births fell by 3,000 to reach 71,000 births, the lowest quarterly result in 15 years, the report says.
Births rebounded in the first half of 2021 to reach 80,000 in the March quarter, the highest quarterly result in 40 years.
The snapshot forecasts that births for 2021-22 will also be 1.66 babies per woman but that is expected to decline to 1.65 by 2024-25 and 1.62 by 2030-31, reflecting a long-term trend toward having fewer children and having children later in life.
The report says Australia’s experience is broadly in line with other high-income countries which experienced short-term fluctuations in the number of births during the pandemic but were now forecast to return to pre-pandemic levels.
The full 2022 population statement by the Centre for Population will be published on Friday.
It will show ageing will continue to present a demographic challenge for Australia in the future with declining fertility rates and increasing life expectancies.
The excerpt released by the government on New Year’s Day shows Australia’s median age is projected to increase from 38.2 years in 2020–21 to 42.8 years by 2060-61.
The treasurer, Jim Chalmers, said there were challenges and opportunities due to Australia’s ageing population.
“It’s becoming more important than ever to build a bigger and better-trained workforce, particularly with the proportion of working age people projected to decline in the years ahead,” he said.
“That’s why we’re making strong investments in our people and the productive capacity of our economy.”
He said that included making childcare cheaper to make it easier for parents to work if they wanted to and undertaking a review intended to improve Australia’s migration program.
“Together with the investments we’re making to fix the critical skills shortages, breaking down barriers to workforce participation is a key part of our strategy to boost the size and quality of our workforce and advance equality of opportunity – including for women,” Chalmers said.
He said the “evolution” of Australia’s care industries was also a “big opportunity for Australia’s economy” due to the larger cohort of older Australians that would require more services and support.
