Births, Australia, 2021

Summary statistics
	2011	2020	2021(a)
Male births	154,996	150,943	158,917
Female births	146,621	143,426	151,079
Total births	301,617	294,369	309,996
Total Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander births	17,621	22,016	23,510
Sex ratio	105.7	105.2	105.2
Total fertility rate	1.92	1.59	1.70
Total fertility rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women(b)(c)	2.31	2.25	2.34
Crude birth rate	13.5	11.5	12.1
Net reproduction rate	0.923	0.769	0.819

All jurisdictions recorded an increase in birth registrations in 2021. This follows lower birth counts in 2020.
Care should be taken when interpreting data, due to changes over time in the completeness and coverage of responses by the parent(s) to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander question on the birth registration form.
Fertility rates for 2020 and 2021 are calculated using 2016 Census-based population projections.

Total fertility rate is the number of births per woman.

Crude birth rate is the number of births per 1,000 estimated resident population.

Net reproduction rate is the average number of daughters surviving to reproductive age per woman.

Sex ratio is the number of male births per 100 female births.

National

Births registered

There were 309,996 births in 2021, an increase of 5.3% (or 15,627 births) from 2020:

51.3% were males, resulting in a sex ratio at birth of 105.2 male births per 100 female births
61.7% were to parents in a registered marriage.

Births registered, 1933 to 2021(a)
Year	Births registered
1933	111,269
1934	109,475
1935	111,325
1936	116,073
1937	119,131
1938	120,415
1939	122,891
1940	126,347
1941	134,525
1942	136,708
1943	149,295
1944	153,344
1945	160,560
1946	176,379
1947	182,384
1948	177,976
1949	181,261
1950	190,591
1951	193,298
1952	201,650
1953	202,235
1954	202,256
1955	207,677
1956	212,133
1957	220,358
1958	222,504
1959	226,976
1960	230,326
1961	239,986
1962	237,081
1963	235,689
1964	229,149
1965	222,854
1966	223,731
1967	229,296
1968	240,906
1969	250,175
1970	257,516
1971	276,361
1972	264,969
1973	247,670
1974	245,177
1975	233,012
1976	227,810
1977	226,291
1978	224,181
1979	223,129
1980	225,527
1981	235,842
1982	239,903
1983	242,570
1984	234,034
1985	247,348
1986	243,408
1987	243,959
1988	246,193
1989	250,853
1990	262,648
1991	257,247
1992	264,151
1993	260,229
1994	258,051
1995	256,190
1996	253,834
1997	251,842
1998	249,616
1999	248,870
2000	249,636
2001	246,394
2002	250,988
2003	251,161
2004	254,246
2005	264,493
2006	270,849
2007	292,152
2008	302,272
2009	301,253
2010	303,318
2011	301,617
2012	309,582
2013	308,065
2014	299,697
2015	305,377
2016	311,104
2017	309,142
2018	315,147
2019	305,832
2020	294,369
2021	309,996

Births registered, 1933 to 2021(a)

["Year","Births registered"]

[["1933","1934","1935","1936","1937","1938","1939","1940","1941","1942","1943","1944","1945","1946","1947","1948","1949","1950","1951","1952","1953","1954","1955","1956","1957","1958","1959","1960","1961","1962","1963","1964","1965","1966","1967","1968","1969","1970","1971","1972","1973","1974","1975","1976","1977","1978","1979","1980","1981","1982","1983","1984","1985","1986","1987","1988","1989","1990","1991","1992","1993","1994","1995","1996","1997","1998","1999","2000","2001","2002","2003","2004","2005","2006","2007","2008","2009","2010","2011","2012","2013","2014","2015","2016","2017","2018","2019","2020","2021"],[[111269],[109475],[111325],[116073],[119131],[120415],[122891],[126347],[134525],[136708],[149295],[153344],[160560],[176379],[182384],[177976],[181261],[190591],[193298],[201650],[202235],[202256],[207677],[212133],[220358],[222504],[226976],[230326],[239986],[237081],[235689],[229149],[222854],[223731],[229296],[240906],[250175],[257516],[276361],[264969],[247670],[245177],[233012],[227810],[226291],[224181],[223129],[225527],[235842],[239903],[242570],[234034],[247348],[243408],[243959],[246193],[250853],[262648],[257247],[264151],[260229],[258051],[256190],[253834],[251842],[249616],[248870],[249636],[246394],[250988],[251161],[254246],[264493],[270849],[292152],[302272],[301253],[303318],[301617],[309582],[308065],[299697],[305377],[311104],[309142],[315147],[305832],[294369],[309996]]]

[]

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Data for 2021 show an increase of 15,627 births registrations. This follows lower birth registrations in 2020.

Median age of parents

Median age of parents, 1933 to 2021
Year	Median age of mother	Median age of father (a)
1933	27.98
1934	27.87
1935	27.73
1936	27.67
1937	27.55
1938	27.57
1939	27.55
1940	27.62
1941	27.53
1942	27.65
1943	27.72
1944	28.18
1945	28.18
1946	27.9
1947	27.5
1948	27.46
1949	27.38
1950	27.38
1951	27.33
1952	27.33
1953	27.37
1954	27.38
1955	27.32
1956	27.29
1957	27.24
1958	27.19
1959	26.98
1960	26.81
1961	26.62
1962	26.53
1963	26.4
1964	26.32
1965	26.08
1966	25.89
1967	25.74
1968	25.62
1969	25.57
1970	25.55
1971	25.44
1972	25.49
1973	25.56
1974	25.66
1975	25.76	28.55
1976	25.91	28.72
1977	26.13	28.98
1978	26.28	29.16
1979	26.46	29.34
1980	26.56	29.45
1981	26.66	29.55
1982	26.8	29.67
1983	26.87	29.74
1984	27.12	29.92
1985	27.33	30.08
1986	27.49	30.24
1987	27.73	30.43
1988	27.94	30.59
1989	28.16	30.76
1990	28.33	30.86
1991	28.47	30.98
1992	28.68	31.19
1993	28.86	31.37
1994	28.98	31.56
1995	29.13	31.74
1996	29.23	31.86
1997	29.37	31.98
1998	29.49	32.02
1999	29.66	32.1
2000	29.84	32.23
2001	30	32.3
2002	30.24	32.45
2003	30.45	32.64
2004	30.6	32.81
2005	30.66	32.91
2006	30.75	33.03
2007	30.69	33.04
2008	30.67	33.07
2009	30.58	33.02
2010	30.64	33.06
2011	30.64	32.98
2012	30.66	32.97
2013	30.77	32.98
2014	30.87	33.03
2015	31	33.1
2016	31.2	33.3
2017	31.3	33.3
2018	31.4	33.5
2019	31.5	33.5
2020	31.6	33.6
2021	31.7	33.7

Multiple births

Total fertility rate

The total fertility rate required for replacement is currently considered to be around 2.1 babies per woman to replace herself and her partner.

Australia's total fertility rate:

was 1.70 babies per woman in 2021, higher than 2020 (1.59) but remaining lower than 2011 (1.92)
has been below replacement since 1976.

Total fertility rate, 1933 to 2021(a)
Year	Total fertility rate
1933	2.17
1934	2.11
1935	2.12
1936	2.18
1937	2.21
1938	2.21
1939	2.22
1940	2.26
1941	2.36
1942	2.38
1943	2.57
1944	2.63
1945	2.74
1946	2.99
1947	3.08
1948	2.99
1949	2.99
1950	3.07
1951	3.06
1952	3.18
1953	3.19
1954	3.19
1955	3.28
1956	3.33
1957	3.42
1958	3.42
1959	3.44
1960	3.45
1961	3.55
1962	3.43
1963	3.34
1964	3.15
1965	2.97
1966	2.89
1967	2.85
1968	2.89
1969	2.89
1970	2.86
1971	2.95
1972	2.74
1973	2.49
1974	2.32
1975	2.15
1976	2.06
1977	2.01
1978	1.95
1979	1.91
1980	1.89
1981	1.94
1982	1.93
1983	1.92
1984	1.84
1985	1.92
1986	1.87
1987	1.85
1988	1.83
1989	1.84
1990	1.90
1991	1.85
1992	1.89
1993	1.86
1994	1.85
1995	1.83
1996	1.81
1997	1.79
1998	1.77
1999	1.77
2000	1.77
2001	1.74
2002	1.77
2003	1.77
2004	1.78
2005	1.85
2006	1.88
2007	1.99
2008	2.02
2009	1.97
2010	1.95
2011	1.92
2012	1.93
2013	1.88
2014	1.80
2015	1.80
2016	1.79
2017	1.74
2018	1.74
2019	1.67
2020	1.59
2021	1.70

Total fertility rate, 1933 to 2021(a)

["Year","Total fertility rate"]

[["1933","1934","1935","1936","1937","1938","1939","1940","1941","1942","1943","1944","1945","1946","1947","1948","1949","1950","1951","1952","1953","1954","1955","1956","1957","1958","1959","1960","1961","1962","1963","1964","1965","1966","1967","1968","1969","1970","1971","1972","1973","1974","1975","1976","1977","1978","1979","1980","1981","1982","1983","1984","1985","1986","1987","1988","1989","1990","1991","1992","1993","1994","1995","1996","1997","1998","1999","2000","2001","2002","2003","2004","2005","2006","2007","2008","2009","2010","2011","2012","2013","2014","2015","2016","2017","2018","2019","2020","2021"],[[2.1659999999999999],[2.1070000000000002],[2.1150000000000002],[2.1779999999999999],[2.2080000000000002],[2.2050000000000001],[2.222],[2.2559999999999998],[2.3639999999999999],[2.375],[2.569],[2.6299999999999999],[2.7360000000000002],[2.9860000000000002],[3.0760000000000001],[2.9849999999999999],[2.9860000000000002],[3.0670000000000002],[3.0590000000000002],[3.181],[3.1930000000000001],[3.1909999999999998],[3.2749999999999999],[3.3300000000000001],[3.4209999999999998],[3.4209999999999998],[3.4399999999999999],[3.4510000000000001],[3.548],[3.431],[3.343],[3.1539999999999999],[2.9729999999999999],[2.8849999999999998],[2.847],[2.8860000000000001],[2.887],[2.859],[2.9449999999999998],[2.7429999999999999],[2.4910000000000001],[2.3210000000000002],[2.1480000000000001],[2.0600000000000001],[2.0070000000000001],[1.9490000000000001],[1.907],[1.891],[1.9350000000000001],[1.929],[1.9239999999999999],[1.8400000000000001],[1.923],[1.8680000000000001],[1.845],[1.831],[1.8380000000000001],[1.9019999999999999],[1.849],[1.8899999999999999],[1.863],[1.847],[1.829],[1.8049999999999999],[1.788],[1.7729999999999999],[1.7669999999999999],[1.7689999999999999],[1.7430000000000001],[1.7709999999999999],[1.7649999999999999],[1.782],[1.8460000000000001],[1.875],[1.994],[2.0230000000000001],[1.97],[1.954],[1.917],[1.929],[1.881],[1.7949999999999999],[1.796],[1.792],[1.7430000000000001],[1.744],[1.665],[1.5920000000000001],[1.6950000000000001]]]

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Data for 2021 show an increase of 15,627 births registrations. This follows lower birth registrations in 2020.

Age-specific fertility rate

In recent decades, the average age of mothers has been increasing.

All age groups except 15-19 years showed an increase in fertility rate from 2020.
Women aged 30-34 years had the highest fertility rate at 120.6 babies per 1,000 women, higher than 108.6 babies in 2001.
Women aged 15-19 years had the lowest fertility rate at 7.1 babies per 1,000 women, declining from 17.9 babies in 2001.

Age-specific fertility rates, 1933 to 2021
Year	15-19	20-24	25-29	30-34	35-39	40-44	45-49
1933	25.6	99.6	123.6	96	61.3	24.5	2.6
1934	24.6	97.9	120.7	93.3	58.4	24.1	2.3
1935	24.6	99.6	123.2	94	57.3	21.9	2.3
1936	24.9	103.5	127.5	95.5	60.3	21.6	2.2
1937	24.6	107.1	130.7	97.9	58.6	20.7	2
1938	23.8	108.4	130.9	99.2	56.3	20.2	2.1
1939	24.3	110.5	133.9	98.3	56.4	19	1.9
1940	23.6	112.5	136.8	100.5	56.6	19.4	1.7
1941	24.3	121	143.5	104.9	57.8	19.6	1.7
1942	24	121.8	143.6	104.2	60	19.6	1.7
1943	24.3	132.5	155.4	114.8	64.5	20.6	1.6
1944	22.9	126.7	157.3	122.5	72.9	22.1	1.6
1945	23.8	132.4	164.2	125.2	76.1	23.7	1.8
1946	26.1	151.1	183.2	131.7	78.3	24.6	2.1
1947	32.1	166.2	186.6	130	75	23.5	1.8
1948	34.2	163	179.8	124.6	71.2	22.5	1.7
1949	35.8	167.4	180.9	121.9	68.4	21.2	1.6
1950	37	173.5	186	124.6	68.8	21.8	1.6
1951	38.6	177.2	185.3	123.1	65	21	1.6
1952	39.3	189.7	192.7	126.1	66.1	20.5	1.7
1953	38.8	194.7	193.2	124.6	65.3	20.5	1.4
1954	39.2	197.1	194	121.8	64.4	20.2	1.5
1955	41.8	205.4	199.6	122	64.4	20.4	1.4
1956	43	210.9	203	123.5	64.2	19.7	1.6
1957	44	216.2	210.7	127.2	65.1	19.5	1.4
1958	44.6	215.9	212.9	126.4	64.3	18.5	1.5
1959	45.2	219	214.4	125.7	63.6	18.6	1.5
1960	44.3	220.1	216.3	127.5	62.3	18.4	1.3
1961	47.4	225.8	221.2	131.1	63.4	19.2	1.4
1962	44.7	216	216.7	127.7	61.4	18.4	1.2
1963	45.9	208.2	211.2	123.9	59.7	18.6	1.1
1964	47	190.5	198.1	119.1	58.4	16.5	1.2
1965	47.5	179.3	188.5	110.1	53	15	1.1
1966	48.9	173.1	183.9	105.1	50.6	14.2	1.1
1967	48.4	170.8	185	102.8	47.8	13.5	1.1
1968	48.9	173.6	190.8	103.3	46.7	12.9	1
1969	49	174.2	191.8	103.5	45.6	12.2	1
1970	50.9	172	189.6	101.8	44.9	11.7	0.8
1971	55.5	181.9	193.5	101.8	44.2	11.3	0.8
1972	54.5	168.7	181.7	94	38.9	10	0.8
1973	49.1	155.4	166.9	84.2	33.6	8.4	0.6
1974	44.2	145.4	159.3	78.5	29.1	7.2	0.4
1975	40.1	133.9	149.6	74.1	26	6.1	0.4
1976	35.2	128.2	146.2	72.5	24.1	5.5	0.4
1977	32.1	122	145.7	74.1	23.9	5	0.3
1978	29.9	115.8	144	73.4	23.5	4.5	0.2
1979	28.5	109.1	142.5	73.9	23.6	4.6	0.3
1980	27.6	107	141	75.1	23.7	4.4	0.3
1981	28.2	107.5	145.2	77.6	24.5	4.5	0.3
1982	27.4	103.9	144.9	80.6	25.6	4.5	0.3
1983	26.6	102.7	145.9	81.5	25	4.3	0.2
1984	23.2	94.3	140.4	81.2	25	4.3	0.3
1985	22.8	95.8	146	89	26.9	4.5	0.2
1986	21.8	90	141.9	88.7	27.2	4.3	0.2
1987	20.6	85	139.6	90.6	28.9	4.8	0.3
1988	20.3	81.5	136.9	93.3	30.5	4.6	0.2
1989	20.6	78.4	135.4	96.1	32.6	5	0.2
1990	22.1	79.4	137.9	101.7	34.7	5.5	0.2
1991	22.1	75	132	100.2	36	5.5	0.2
1992	22	75	132.5	104.6	38.4	6.2	0.3
1993	21	71.4	130	105.6	38.9	6.3	0.2
1994	20.7	69.9	126.2	105.3	41.2	6.7	0.3
1995	20.5	67.4	122.2	106.4	42.4	7.2	0.3
1996	20.2	65.6	117.8	106.1	43.9	7.5	0.3
1997	19.9	63.2	114.4	107	45	7.5	0.3
1998	19	61.8	112.1	107.5	45.7	8.1	0.3
1999	18.6	61.3	109.4	108.6	47.1	8.5	0.3
2000	17.8	59.7	108.8	110.2	48.9	8.8	0.4
2001	17.9	58.6	105.4	108.6	49.3	9.2	0.4
2002	17.4	57	105.6	112	52.5	9.8	0.4
2003	16.2	54.8	103.6	113.3	54.7	10.1	0.5
2004	16.2	53.4	103.1	115.1	57.7	10.6	0.5
2005	16.6	54.4	105.5	119.5	61.5	11.1	0.5
2006	16.3	54.1	104.7	123.1	64.7	11.6	0.6
2007	17.1	58.8	110	129.7	69.6	13	0.7
2008	18.4	59.4	108.9	130.7	72	14.5	0.7
2009	17.9	56.8	106.3	127.7	70.1	14.5	0.7
2010	16.7	55.3	104	127.2	71.1	15.1	0.8
2011	16.1	53	103.1	124.9	70.3	15.2	0.9
2012	16.1	53.2	102.6	126.9	71.5	15.2	1
2013	14.6	51.3	99.1	124.8	70.9	15.4	0.9
2014	12.9	47.4	94.8	120.4	69.2	14.4	1
2015	12	47.3	93.4	121.7	69.8	14.6	1.1
2016	10.5	44.7	92.2	123.6	72	15.3	1.3
2017	10.3	43.1	89.7	119.1	71.3	15.4	1.2
2018	9.5	42.8	89.3	120.1	71.6	16	1.3
2019	8.8	40.1	84.3	115.6	69.3	15.5	1.3
2020	7.9	37.7	80.3	111.4	66.3	15.1	1.2
2021	7.1	38.8	86.7	120.6	70.9	15.6	0.8

Age-specific fertility rates, 1933 to 2021

["Year","15-19","20-24","25-29","30-34","35-39","40-44","45-49"]

[["1933","1934","1935","1936","1937","1938","1939","1940","1941","1942","1943","1944","1945","1946","1947","1948","1949","1950","1951","1952","1953","1954","1955","1956","1957","1958","1959","1960","1961","1962","1963","1964","1965","1966","1967","1968","1969","1970","1971","1972","1973","1974","1975","1976","1977","1978","1979","1980","1981","1982","1983","1984","1985","1986","1987","1988","1989","1990","1991","1992","1993","1994","1995","1996","1997","1998","1999","2000","2001","2002","2003","2004","2005","2006","2007","2008","2009","2010","2011","2012","2013","2014","2015","2016","2017","2018","2019","2020","2021"],[[25.600000000000001],[24.600000000000001],[24.600000000000001],[24.899999999999999],[24.600000000000001],[23.800000000000001],[24.300000000000001],[23.600000000000001],[24.300000000000001],[24],[24.300000000000001],[22.899999999999999],[23.800000000000001],[26.100000000000001],[32.100000000000001],[34.200000000000003],[35.799999999999997],[37],[38.600000000000001],[39.299999999999997],[38.799999999999997],[39.200000000000003],[41.799999999999997],[43],[44],[44.600000000000001],[45.200000000000003],[44.299999999999997],[47.399999999999999],[44.700000000000003],[45.899999999999999],[47],[47.5],[48.899999999999999],[48.399999999999999],[48.899999999999999],[49],[50.899999999999999],[55.5],[54.5],[49.100000000000001],[44.200000000000003],[40.100000000000001],[35.200000000000003],[32.100000000000001],[29.899999999999999],[28.5],[27.600000000000001],[28.199999999999999],[27.399999999999999],[26.600000000000001],[23.199999999999999],[22.800000000000001],[21.800000000000001],[20.600000000000001],[20.300000000000001],[20.600000000000001],[22.100000000000001],[22.100000000000001],[22],[21],[20.699999999999999],[20.5],[20.199999999999999],[19.899999999999999],[19],[18.600000000000001],[17.800000000000001],[17.899999999999999],[17.399999999999999],[16.199999999999999],[16.199999999999999],[16.600000000000001],[16.300000000000001],[17.100000000000001],[18.399999999999999],[17.899999999999999],[16.699999999999999],[16.100000000000001],[16.100000000000001],[14.6],[12.9],[12],[10.5],[10.300000000000001],[9.5],[8.8000000000000007],[7.9000000000000004],[7.0999999999999996]],[[99.599999999999994],[97.900000000000006],[99.599999999999994],[103.5],[107.09999999999999],[108.40000000000001],[110.5],[112.5],[121],[121.8],[132.5],[126.7],[132.40000000000001],[151.09999999999999],[166.19999999999999],[163],[167.40000000000001],[173.5],[177.19999999999999],[189.69999999999999],[194.69999999999999],[197.09999999999999],[205.40000000000001],[210.90000000000001],[216.19999999999999],[215.90000000000001],[219],[220.09999999999999],[225.80000000000001],[216],[208.19999999999999],[190.5],[179.30000000000001],[173.09999999999999],[170.80000000000001],[173.59999999999999],[174.19999999999999],[172],[181.90000000000001],[168.69999999999999],[155.40000000000001],[145.40000000000001],[133.90000000000001],[128.19999999999999],[122],[115.8],[109.09999999999999],[107],[107.5],[103.90000000000001],[102.7],[94.299999999999997],[95.799999999999997],[90],[85],[81.5],[78.400000000000006],[79.400000000000006],[75],[75],[71.400000000000006],[69.900000000000006],[67.400000000000006],[65.599999999999994],[63.200000000000003],[61.799999999999997],[61.299999999999997],[59.700000000000003],[58.600000000000001],[57],[54.799999999999997],[53.399999999999999],[54.399999999999999],[54.100000000000001],[58.799999999999997],[59.399999999999999],[56.799999999999997],[55.299999999999997],[53],[53.200000000000003],[51.299999999999997],[47.399999999999999],[47.299999999999997],[44.700000000000003],[43.100000000000001],[42.799999999999997],[40.100000000000001],[37.700000000000003],[38.799999999999997]],[[123.59999999999999],[120.7],[123.2],[127.5],[130.69999999999999],[130.90000000000001],[133.90000000000001],[136.80000000000001],[143.5],[143.59999999999999],[155.40000000000001],[157.30000000000001],[164.19999999999999],[183.19999999999999],[186.59999999999999],[179.80000000000001],[180.90000000000001],[186],[185.30000000000001],[192.69999999999999],[193.19999999999999],[194],[199.59999999999999],[203],[210.69999999999999],[212.90000000000001],[214.40000000000001],[216.30000000000001],[221.19999999999999],[216.69999999999999],[211.19999999999999],[198.09999999999999],[188.5],[183.90000000000001],[185],[190.80000000000001],[191.80000000000001],[189.59999999999999],[193.5],[181.69999999999999],[166.90000000000001],[159.30000000000001],[149.59999999999999],[146.19999999999999],[145.69999999999999],[144],[142.5],[141],[145.19999999999999],[144.90000000000001],[145.90000000000001],[140.40000000000001],[146],[141.90000000000001],[139.59999999999999],[136.90000000000001],[135.40000000000001],[137.90000000000001],[132],[132.5],[130],[126.2],[122.2],[117.8],[114.40000000000001],[112.09999999999999],[109.40000000000001],[108.8],[105.40000000000001],[105.59999999999999],[103.59999999999999],[103.09999999999999],[105.5],[104.7],[110],[108.90000000000001],[106.3],[104],[103.09999999999999],[102.59999999999999],[99.099999999999994],[94.799999999999997],[93.400000000000006],[92.200000000000003],[89.700000000000003],[89.299999999999997],[84.299999999999997],[80.299999999999997],[86.700000000000003]],[[96],[93.299999999999997],[94],[95.5],[97.900000000000006],[99.200000000000003],[98.299999999999997],[100.5],[104.90000000000001],[104.2],[114.8],[122.5],[125.2],[131.69999999999999],[130],[124.59999999999999],[121.90000000000001],[124.59999999999999],[123.09999999999999],[126.09999999999999],[124.59999999999999],[121.8],[122],[123.5],[127.2],[126.40000000000001],[125.7],[127.5],[131.09999999999999],[127.7],[123.90000000000001],[119.09999999999999],[110.09999999999999],[105.09999999999999],[102.8],[103.3],[103.5],[101.8],[101.8],[94],[84.200000000000003],[78.5],[74.099999999999994],[72.5],[74.099999999999994],[73.400000000000006],[73.900000000000006],[75.099999999999994],[77.599999999999994],[80.599999999999994],[81.5],[81.200000000000003],[89],[88.700000000000003],[90.599999999999994],[93.299999999999997],[96.099999999999994],[101.7],[100.2],[104.59999999999999],[105.59999999999999],[105.3],[106.40000000000001],[106.09999999999999],[107],[107.5],[108.59999999999999],[110.2],[108.59999999999999],[112],[113.3],[115.09999999999999],[119.5],[123.09999999999999],[129.69999999999999],[130.69999999999999],[127.7],[127.2],[124.90000000000001],[126.90000000000001],[124.8],[120.40000000000001],[121.7],[123.59999999999999],[119.09999999999999],[120.09999999999999],[115.59999999999999],[111.40000000000001],[120.59999999999999]],[[61.299999999999997],[58.399999999999999],[57.299999999999997],[60.299999999999997],[58.600000000000001],[56.299999999999997],[56.399999999999999],[56.600000000000001],[57.799999999999997],[60],[64.5],[72.900000000000006],[76.099999999999994],[78.299999999999997],[75],[71.200000000000003],[68.400000000000006],[68.799999999999997],[65],[66.099999999999994],[65.299999999999997],[64.400000000000006],[64.400000000000006],[64.200000000000003],[65.099999999999994],[64.299999999999997],[63.600000000000001],[62.299999999999997],[63.399999999999999],[61.399999999999999],[59.700000000000003],[58.399999999999999],[53],[50.600000000000001],[47.799999999999997],[46.700000000000003],[45.600000000000001],[44.899999999999999],[44.200000000000003],[38.899999999999999],[33.600000000000001],[29.100000000000001],[26],[24.100000000000001],[23.899999999999999],[23.5],[23.600000000000001],[23.699999999999999],[24.5],[25.600000000000001],[25],[25],[26.899999999999999],[27.199999999999999],[28.899999999999999],[30.5],[32.600000000000001],[34.700000000000003],[36],[38.399999999999999],[38.899999999999999],[41.200000000000003],[42.399999999999999],[43.899999999999999],[45],[45.700000000000003],[47.100000000000001],[48.899999999999999],[49.299999999999997],[52.5],[54.700000000000003],[57.700000000000003],[61.5],[64.700000000000003],[69.599999999999994],[72],[70.099999999999994],[71.099999999999994],[70.299999999999997],[71.5],[70.900000000000006],[69.200000000000003],[69.799999999999997],[72],[71.299999999999997],[71.599999999999994],[69.299999999999997],[66.299999999999997],[70.900000000000006]],[[24.5],[24.100000000000001],[21.899999999999999],[21.600000000000001],[20.699999999999999],[20.199999999999999],[19],[19.399999999999999],[19.600000000000001],[19.600000000000001],[20.600000000000001],[22.100000000000001],[23.699999999999999],[24.600000000000001],[23.5],[22.5],[21.199999999999999],[21.800000000000001],[21],[20.5],[20.5],[20.199999999999999],[20.399999999999999],[19.699999999999999],[19.5],[18.5],[18.600000000000001],[18.399999999999999],[19.199999999999999],[18.399999999999999],[18.600000000000001],[16.5],[15],[14.199999999999999],[13.5],[12.9],[12.199999999999999],[11.699999999999999],[11.300000000000001],[10],[8.4000000000000004],[7.2000000000000002],[6.0999999999999996],[5.5],[5],[4.5],[4.5999999999999996],[4.4000000000000004],[4.5],[4.5],[4.2999999999999998],[4.2999999999999998],[4.5],[4.2999999999999998],[4.7999999999999998],[4.5999999999999996],[5],[5.5],[5.5],[6.2000000000000002],[6.2999999999999998],[6.7000000000000002],[7.2000000000000002],[7.5],[7.5],[8.0999999999999996],[8.5],[8.8000000000000007],[9.1999999999999993],[9.8000000000000007],[10.1],[10.6],[11.1],[11.6],[13],[14.5],[14.5],[15.1],[15.199999999999999],[15.199999999999999],[15.4],[14.4],[14.6],[15.300000000000001],[15.4],[16],[15.5],[15.1],[15.6]],[[2.6000000000000001],[2.2999999999999998],[2.2999999999999998],[2.2000000000000002],[2],[2.1000000000000001],[1.8999999999999999],[1.7],[1.7],[1.7],[1.6000000000000001],[1.6000000000000001],[1.8],[2.1000000000000001],[1.8],[1.7],[1.6000000000000001],[1.6000000000000001],[1.6000000000000001],[1.7],[1.3999999999999999],[1.5],[1.3999999999999999],[1.6000000000000001],[1.3999999999999999],[1.5],[1.5],[1.3],[1.3999999999999999],[1.2],[1.1000000000000001],[1.2],[1.1000000000000001],[1.1000000000000001],[1.1000000000000001],[1],[1],[0.80000000000000004],[0.80000000000000004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[]

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States and territories

Births registered

All states and territories had an increase in registered births from the previous year. The largest contributors to the increase in registered births were:

Queensland (4,745 births or 8.0%)
South Australia (1,209 births or 6.5%)
New South Wales (5,721 births or 6.1%).

Births registered by state or territory of registration
	2020	2021	Change from 2020-21(no.)	Change from 2020-21(%)
New South Wales	93,579	99,300	5,721	6.1
Victoria	74,617	76,414	1,797	2.4
Queensland	59,516	64,261	4,745	8.0
South Australia	18,574	19,783	1,209	6.5
Western Australia	32,420	34,065	1,645	5.1
Tasmania	5,774	6,027	253	4.4
Northern Territory	3,716	3,736	20	0.5
Australian Capital Territory	6,173	6,410	237	3.8
Australia	294,369	309,996	15,627	5.3

Median age of parents

Multiple births

Multiple births by state or territory of usual residence(a)
	Single	Twin	Triplet and higher order	Total multiple births	Total confinements(b)
New South Wales	98,624	1,331	27	1,358	99,982
Victoria	73,318	1,026	10	1,036	74,354
Queensland	62,280	902	19	921	63,201
South Australia	19,214	270	4	272	19,486
Western Australia	33,148	442	5	447	33,595
Tasmania	5,875	82	0	82	5,957
Northern Territory	3,688	50	0	50	3,738
Australian Capital Territory	5,384	82	0	82	5,466
Australia(c)	301,564	4,185	63	4,248	305,812

Total fertility rate by state or territory of usual residence

The Northern Territory recorded the highest total fertility rate (1.82 babies per woman), followed by Queensland (1.79 babies per woman).
The Australian Capital Territory had the lowest total fertility rate (1.45 babies per woman).

Total fertility rate by state or territory of usual residence
	2011	2020	2021
NSW	1.96	1.65	1.78
Vic.	1.78	1.46	1.53
Qld	2.02	1.65	1.79
SA	1.87	1.56	1.66
WA	1.92	1.67	1.75
Tas.	2.15	1.57	1.64
NT	2.15	1.79	1.82
ACT	1.74	1.41	1.45
Aust.(a)(b)	1.92	1.59	1.70

Total fertility rate by state or territory of usual residence

["","2011","2020","2021"]

[["NSW","Vic.","Qld","SA","WA","Tas.","NT","ACT","Aust.(a)(b)"],[[1.9630000000000001],[1.778],[2.0169999999999999],[1.867],[1.9179999999999999],[2.1539999999999999],[2.1480000000000001],[1.7370000000000001],[1.917]],[[1.6519999999999999],[1.4630000000000001],[1.653],[1.5549999999999999],[1.667],[1.5740000000000001],[1.7929999999999999],[1.4139999999999999],[1.5920000000000001]],[[1.7749999999999999],[1.5309999999999999],[1.792],[1.663],[1.754],[1.635],[1.8180000000000001],[1.448],[1.6950000000000001]]]

[]

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All jurisdictions recorded an increase in birth registrations in 2021. This follows lower birth counts in 2020.
Includes Other Territories.

Net reproduction rate

Net reproduction rate by state or territory of usual residence
	2020	2021
NSW	0.80	0.86
Vic	0.71	0.74
Qld	0.80	0.87
SA	0.75	0.80
WA	0.80	0.85
Tas	0.77	0.79
NT	0.84	0.87
ACT	0.68	0.69
Aust.(a)	0.77	0.82

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Births registered

There were 23,510 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander births registered, an increase of 1,494 babies from 2020. This represents 7.6% of all births registered in 2021.

New South Wales and Queensland recorded the highest number of births (7,840 and 7,393).
The Australian Capital Territory recorded the lowest number of births (325).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander births, year of registration
State or territory of registration	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021
New South Wales(a)	4,931	5,911	5,577	5,905	7,339	7,128	7,482	7,840
Victoria	1,462	1,370	1,640	1,837	1,864	1,866	1,847	1,862
Queensland(b)	5,394	5,248	5,456	6,615	6,405	6,882	6,445	7,393
South Australia	925	949	952	1,016	1,068	1,060	1,025	1,143
Western Australia	2,795	2,985	2,750	2,773	2,704	2,681	2,813	2,895
Tasmania	545	515	585	612	578	619	680	687
Northern Territory(c)	1,486	1,365	1,373	1,402	1,711	1,383	1,432	1,365
Australian Capital Territory	241	194	227	240	259	306	292	325
Australia	17,779	18,537	18,560	20,400	21,928	21,925	22,016	23,510

Some of the increases in 2018 and 2019 were due to a catch-up in registration processing lags.
Some of the increases from 2017 were due to catch-up in registration processing lags while some of the increases from 2018 to 2021 are due to active engagement programs by the Queensland registry to improve under registration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander births.
Some of the increases in 2018 were due to a catch-up in processing lags.

Median age of parents

Total fertility rate

The total fertility rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women was:

2.34 babies per woman
higher than for all Australian women (1.70).

Age-specific fertility rate

Age-specific fertility rate
Age group	Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women	All women
15-19	40.4	7.1
20-24	122.5	38.8
25-29	134.5	86.7
30-34	102.9	120.6
35-39	53.8	70.9
40-44	13.7	15.6
45-49	0.6	0.8

Data downloads

Births data cubes and Data Explorer datasets are by state or territory of usual residence.

All births datasets in this release are reported by year of registration except ‘Births, by year and month of occurrence, by state of usual residence’ which is reporting the month and year in which the birth occurred. Lag in registration of births can cause data reported by occurrence to be incomplete. This is particularly noticeable in December as births in this month are more likely to be registered in the following year. Data is updated annually.

Download all (1.44 MB)

Data cubes

Data files

Table 1: Births, summary, Statistical Area Level 4 - 2011 to 2021
Download xlsx [156.02 KB]
Table 2: Births, summary, Statistical Area Level 2 - 2011 to 2021
Download xlsx [851.51 KB]
Table 3: Births, summary, Local Government Area - 2011 to 2021
Download xlsx [257.91 KB]
Table 4: Births, summary, Remoteness Area - 2011 to 2021
Download xlsx [114.25 KB]
Table 5: Births, summary, Remoteness Areas, Indigenous status - 2011 to 2021
Download xlsx [75.7 KB]
Table 6: Births, country of birth of parent, Australia - 2021
Download xlsx [92.39 KB]

Data Explorer datasets

Caution: Data in the Data Explorer is currently released after the 11:30am release on the ABS website. Please check the time period when using Data Explorer.

Births, summary, by state of usual residence

Fertility, by age, by state of usual residence

Confinements, by nuptiality, by state of usual residence

Births, by year and month of occurrence, by state of usual residence

Paternity, by age, by state of usual residence

Confinements, by plurality, by state of usual residence

Births, by nuptiality, by age of mother

Births, by nuptiality, by age of father

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander births and confinements, summary, by state of usual residence

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander fertility, by age, by state of usual residence

For information on Data Explorer and how it works, see the Data explorer user guide.

Previous catalogue number

This release previously used catalogue number 3301.0.

Post-release changes

30 November 2022: An additional note has been added to the call-out box within the Data downloads section explaining the scope of data within the publication. Figures published in Births, Australia are based on births registered in a calendar year and reported to the ABS by Registries of Births, Deaths and Marriages in each state and territory.

It is common for registrations of births to lag behind the occurrence of births, as parents often don’t register their child’s birth immediately. Many births occurring later in the year will not be registered until the following year and are therefore not in scope for the annual data we publish. Each annual release updates the birth occurrences data to include the additional registrations where births occurred in the reference year but were registered in a later year.

For example, there were 6,683 births registered in December 2020, consistent with the 6,659 births registered in December 2021. When the lagged registrations for births that occurred in December were added to the 2020 figures, they jumped to 22,695. We expect the lagged registrations for December 2021 births to follow a similar pattern.

APA

Citation

Births, Australia

APA

Citation

Key statistics

National

Births registered

Median age of parents

Multiple births

Total fertility rate

Age-specific fertility rate

States and territories

Births registered

Median age of parents

Multiple births

Total fertility rate by state or territory of usual residence

Net reproduction rate

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Births registered

Median age of parents

Total fertility rate

Age-specific fertility rate

Data downloads

Data cubes

Table 1: Births, summary, Statistical Area Level 4 - 2011 to 2021

Table 2: Births, summary, Statistical Area Level 2 - 2011 to 2021

Table 3: Births, summary, Local Government Area - 2011 to 2021

Table 4: Births, summary, Remoteness Area - 2011 to 2021

Table 5: Births, summary, Remoteness Areas, Indigenous status - 2011 to 2021

Table 6: Births, country of birth of parent, Australia - 2021

Data Explorer datasets

Previous catalogue number

Post-release changes

Methodology

Do you need more detailed statistics?

Request data

Microdata and TableBuilder

Provide feedback

APA

Births, Australia

APA

Key statistics

National

Births registered

Median age of parents

Multiple births

Total fertility rate

Age-specific fertility rate

States and territories

Births registered

Median age of parents

Multiple births

Total fertility rate by state or territory of usual residence

Net reproduction rate

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

Births registered

Median age of parents

Total fertility rate

Age-specific fertility rate

Data downloads

Data cubes

Table 1: Births, summary, Statistical Area Level 4 - 2011 to 2021

Table 2: Births, summary, Statistical Area Level 2 - 2011 to 2021

Table 3: Births, summary, Local Government Area - 2011 to 2021

Table 4: Births, summary, Remoteness Area - 2011 to 2021

Table 5: Births, summary, Remoteness Areas, Indigenous status - 2011 to 2021

Table 6: Births, country of birth of parent, Australia - 2021

Data Explorer datasets

Previous catalogue number

Post-release changes

Methodology

Media releases

Fertility rate bounces back in 2021

Do you need more detailed statistics?

Request data

Microdata and TableBuilder