Fertility Rate in Canada by Age of Mother, 1926-2011 Number of births per 1,000 women in each age group 250 births
In the U.S. and many other nations, it’s no longer unusual for women to have a first child at age 35 or even 40. In Canada, this rise in births to older mothers has produced a striking turnabout: For the first time on record, birth rates are higher for women in their late 30s than in their early 20s.
According to a new report by Statistics Canada, the switch happened in 2010 and widened in 2011, when there were 52.3 babies born per 1,000 women ages 35 to 39 and 45.7 per 1,000 women ages 20 to 24. The agency also reports that birth rates for women in their early 40s now are nearly as high as for teens.
This turnabout results from four decades of generally rising birth rates among Canadian women ages 30 and older, and falling birth rates among those younger than 30. In 2011, slightly more than half of all Canadian births (52%) were to women ages 30 and older, up from a quarter (24%) in 1981.
Fertility Rate in Canada by Age of Mother, 1926-2011  | Number of births per 1,000 women in each age group  | 250 births  | 200  | 150  | Ages 25-29  | Ages 20-24  | 0105.9  | 100  | 95.2  | Ages 3034  | 52.3  | 50  | 45.7  | Ages 35-39  | Ages 15-19  | 12.6  | Ages 4044  | 10.3  | 1980  | 1990  | 2000  | 2010  | 1930  | 1940  | 1950  | 1960  | 1970  | Source: Statistics Canada  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 