KEY POINTS:
Women are having babies in greater numbers than at any time in the past 36 years.
Figures released by Statistics New Zealand (SNZ) today show there were 63,250 births (32,360 boys and 30,890 girls) in the March 2008 year, an increase of almost 3000 on last year.
The number has not been this high since 1972, when 64,000 babies were born.
The highest number of births registered in any March year was 65,800 in 1962. At that time the population numbered just 2.5 million, compared with 4.3 million in 2007.
The number of births has increased steadily since a dip in 2003, when 54,657 babies were born. However, the biggest jump has occurred in the past two years, from 58,441 in 2006, to 60,471 last year.
While the numbers of births is expected to rise as the overall population increases, this appears to be only a small factor in the latest numbers.
SNZ spokeswoman Anne Howard said the recent increase in births was considered a blip, not a boom.
There was no one factor which could explain the figures.
The increase was across all regions and age groups, she said.
However, the greatest increase was in the 25-29 age bracket. This age group has been eclipsed in recent years by more women in their 30s having babies.
The median age of women giving birth in the past year was 30.
The birth rate is now 2.1 births per woman. Although this is a slight increase on recent years, the rate has been relatively stable, around 2.0 births per woman over the last 30 years.
There were 28,300 deaths in the year just ended, giving a natural increase (births exceeding deaths) of 34,960.
- NZPA
