Australian Bureau of Statistics

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	DEMOGRAPHIC, SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CHARACTERISTICS: FERTILITY AND BIRTHS
	This article is part of a comprehensive series released as The Health and Welfare of Australia's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

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KEY MESSAGES In 2008, the total fertility rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females was estimated to be 2.52 babies per woman, compared with 1.97 babies per woman for all Australian females.

This article focuses on fertility and births within the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. Data presented in this topic are from the ABS Birth Registrations collection and provide context for the detailed health and welfare information presented in other topics in this release.


FERTILITY

The total fertility rate (TFR) represents the number of children a woman would have during her lifetime if she were to experience current age-specific fertility rates at each stage of her reproductive life. In 2008, the TFR for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females was estimated to be 2.52 babies per woman, compared with 1.97 babies per woman for all Australian females. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander TFRs vary across the states and territories. In 2008, the highest Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander TFR was observed in Western Australia (3.16 babies per female), followed by South Australia (2.94) and the Northern Territory (2.4) (Endnote 1). High fertility at younger ages contributes to the relatively high fertility of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander females. Teenage births (i.e. births to females less than 20 years of age) are more common among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women compared to all women. In 2008, the teenage birth rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women (75 babies per 1,000 women) was more than four times the teenage birth rate for all women (17 babies per 1,000 women). The peak age group for births to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in 2008 was 20–24 years (147 babies per 1,000 women), followed by women aged 25–29 years (132 babies per 1,000 women). In contrast, the peak age group for births to all women was 30–34 years (128 babies per 1,000 women) (Endnote 1). 1.5 AGE-SPECIFIC FERTILITY RATES, by Indigenous status of mother—2008 (a) Number of babies per 1,000 females. Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2009, Births, Australia, 2008, cat. no. 3301.0 BIRTHS In 2008, there were 15,000 births registered in Australia where at least one parent identified themselves as being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin on the birth registration statement (Endnote 2). This was 6% higher than 2007 (14,200 births) and accounted for 5% of all births registered in 2008 (Endnote 1). States with the highest number of registered Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander births were Queensland (4,400 births) and New South Wales (4,000 births), followed by Western Australia and the Northern Territory (2,500 and 1,600 births respectively). The median age of mothers who registered an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander birth in 2008 was 24.7 years, six years lower than the median age of all Australian mothers (30.7 years). Similarly, the median age of fathers was 27.8 years compared with 33.1 years for all Australian fathers. ENDNOTES

1. Australian Bureau of Statistics 2009, 'Births, Australia, 2008', cat. no. 3301.0, ABS, Canberra, <www.abs.gov.au>.

2. Due to a number of factors, including the Indigenous status of parents not always being recorded or not recorded correctly, the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander births recorded is likely to be an underestimate and users should exercise care when interpreting changes in birth data.

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