The mean age of women in the European Union (EU) on giving birth to their first child has gradually increased from 28.8 years in 2013 to 29.3 years in 2018. The mean age has increased in all EU Member States over this period, though to varying degrees.
The largest change was in Estonia, where the mean age increased by 1.2 years, from 26.5 years in 2013 to 27.7 years in 2018, followed by Latvia and Lithuania (both 1.1 years). Over the same period there was little change in Slovakia and Sweden (both 0.2 years), Czechia and Slovenia (both 0.3 years).
First time mothers youngest in Bulgaria and Romania, oldest in Italy and Spain
The Member States with the highest mean ages of women at birth of their first child in 2018 were Italy (31.2 years old), Spain (31.0 years), Luxembourg (30.9 years), Ireland (30.5 years) and Greece (30.4 years). In contrast, in two Member States the mean ages at which women had their first child were below 27.0 years: Bulgaria (26.2 years) and Romania (26.7 years).
Source dataset: demo_find
Note: The European Union (EU) includes 27 EU Member States. The United Kingdom left the European Union on 31 January 2020. Further information is published here.
For more information:
- Eurostat Statistics Explained article on Fertility statistics
- Eurostat website section dedicated to statistics on demography
- Eurostat database on births and fertility data.
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