1367.5 - Western Australian Statistical Indicators, Mar 2009  
ARCHIVED ISSUE Released at 11:30 AM (CANBERRA TIME) 23/04/2009   
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SECTION 12 SOCIAL TRENDS - FAMILIES


FAMILY FORMATION

  • In the past decade the median age at first marriage has steadily increased for both sexes reaching 30.0 years for males and 27.8 years for females in 2007.
  • Since 2002, when the fertility of the Western Australian population reached an historic low of 1.7 babies per woman, the total fertility rate (TFR) has trended upwards reaching 2.0 babies per woman in 2007. In line with national trends, the recent increase would appear to be the result of higher fertility among women aged 30 years and over.
  • In the 10 years to June 2007, the number of births to mothers aged 35 years and over rose by 72%. These births represented 14% of all births in Western Australia in 1997 but 21% of all births in 2007.

35 FAMILY FORMATION
Indicator
1997
2004
2005
2006
2007
Registered marriages
Number of marriages(a) no.
10 456
10 601
11 124
11 602
12 290
Crude marriage rate rate
5.8
5.4
5.5
5.6
5.8
Marriages where both partners married for first time no.
6 700
7 002
7 321
7 780
8 286
Median age at first marriage
Males years
28.1
29.6
29.9
29.9
30.0
Females years
26.1
27.6
27.8
27.7
27.8
Median age at remarriage - divorced persons
Males years
42.5
45.5
45.7
45.6
46.1
Females years
39.2
41.8
42.4
42.3
42.8
Divorces(b)
Number of divorces no.
5 046
4 337
5 265
5 544
4 932
Crude divorce rate(c) rate
2.8
2.2
2.6
2.7
2.3
Median duration between marriage and separation years
8.3
9.1
9.5
9.6
9.9
Divorces involving children aged under 18(d) no.
2 717
2 159
2 680
2 786
2 410
Children aged under 18 affected by divorce no.
na
4 049
5 126
5 248
4 576
Fertility
Number of births no.
24 776
25 295
26 253
27 776
29 164
Total fertility rate(e) rate
1.8
1.8
1.9
1.9
2.0
Births to mothers aged under 20 no.
1 348
1 371
1 446
1 392
1 485
Births to mothers aged 35 and over no.
3 582
4 674
5 174
5 763
6 145
Births outside marriage no.
7 642
9 427
9 653
10 393
11 133
Births outside marriage acknowledged by father no.
6 490
8 457
8 687
9 478
10 012
na not available
(a) The number of marriages registered in the calendar year per 1,000 of the estimated resident population at 30 June of that year.
(b) The lower number of divorces recorded in 2004 was due to processing and timing issues. In general, around 25% of divorces applied in a particular year are registered in the following year. In 2003 more divorces were registered in the year they occurred leading to a fall in the number of late registrations processed in 2004.
(c) The number of divorces granted in the calendar year per 1,000 of the estimated resident population at 30 June of that year.
(d) Refers to divorces of couples with unmarried children of the registered marriage aged under 18 at the time of application for divorce.
(e) The sum of age-specific fertility rates (live births at each age of mother per female population of that age). It represents the number of
Source: Marriages, Australia cat. no. 3306.0.55.001; Divorces, Australia cat. no. 3307.0.55.001; Births, Australia cat. no. 3301.0; ABS data available on request, Births, Australia; Demography, Western Australia cat. no. 3311.5.5.001