Birth rate continues to fall

4.00pm

Slightly fewer children were born in New Zealand in the year to March 31, continuing the trend of a falling birthrate.

About 54,650 live births were recorded in New Zealand in the March 2003 year, compared to 54,720 recorded in the previous year, Statistics New Zealand figures released today said.

"Apart from a small upturn in the late 1990s, annual live births have declined since 1990," Government statistician Brian Pink said in a statement.

"This decline is largely due to a decrease in the number of women in their 20s, and partly because fewer of these women are having children."

New Zealand women averaged 1.91 births per woman, which is below the level required for the population to replace itself without migration (2.1 births).

"However, our fertility rate is at least 10 per cent higher than the fertility rate for Canada, England, Wales and Sweden," Mr Pink said.

On average New Zealand women today were now having children five years later than women in the early 1970s. The median age for New Zealand women giving birth is now 30.2 years, compared with 28.2 in 1993 and 24.9 in the early 1970s.

Last year 27,820 deaths were registered, 1 per cent less than the previous year, Mr Pink said.

"The abridged life table for the New Zealand population for 1999-2001 indicates that a newborn girl can expect to live on average 80.9 years, and a newborn boy 76 years.

- NZPA