REPLACEMENT FERTILITY
Since 1976, the total fertility rate for Australia has been below replacement level. That is, the average number of babies born to a woman throughout her reproductive life (measured by the TFR) has been insufficient to replace herself and her partner. The TFR required for replacement is currently considered to be around 2.1 babies per woman. However, as the level of fertility required to achieve replacement is dependent on the number of women who survive to reproductive ages, replacement fertility has declined with decreases in female mortality. Even if female mortality declined to zero for women until the end of their reproductive lives, the replacement level would still be 2.05 (1.05 male and 1.0 female babies) - higher than the 2010 TFR of 1.89 babies per woman.
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