Australia Records Steepest Birth Decline Since 2006, Falling 4.6% In 2023

Australia's childbirth rate has fallen to a record low, with a steep 4.6% decline from 2022, marking the lowest level since 2006.

The total number of births has dropped below 287,000, with experts attributing the fall to rising living costs and delayed family planning.

The 4.6% decline represents a 17-year low, with 286,998 births recorded in 2023. The drop resulted in a total fertility rate of 1.5 babies per woman, News.com.au reported, citing data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

The country has experienced a downturn in its fertility rate since the 1961 peak of 3.55 and has remained below the replacement rate of 2.1 since 1976, with Western Australia and Tasmania being the only regions to show slight increases in birth rates.

"The record low total fertility rate is because there were fewer births in most states and territories," ABS head of demography statistics Beidar Cho said in a statement.

Australia's fertility rates vary by region, with Western Australia leading at 1.57 births per woman, followed closely by NSW and the Northern Territory (1.55), Queensland (1.54), South Australia (1.5), and Victoria (1.39). The ACT recorded the lowest rate at 1.31.

In 2004, then-Treasurer Peter Costello had urged Australians to have more babies, but recent data has proved that it was only met with indifference by young Australians, reported Nine News.

Notably, Australia requires a steady birth rate of 2.1 births per woman to keep a natural population balance minus immigrants. The last time the birth rate remained above 2.0 per woman was in 2008.

"In 2023, the total fertility rate for mothers who were Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander was 2.17 babies per woman," Cho said. "There were 24,737 births registered where at least one parent was an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australian, which makes up 8.6% of all births."