Average age of mothers at childbirth in France 1994-2018

In 2018, the average age at childbirth among women in France was 30.6 years old. It appears that the mean age of French mothers at childbirth has been increasing since the 1990’s. In 2015, more than 52 percent of French newborns had a mother aged between 30 and 39 years.

Women are having children at an older age

Studies have shown that in France, women tend to have children at an older age than before. In 1990, the proportion of newborns whose mothers were 40 or older amounted to 2.15 percent in France. Years later, in 2014, and after a gradual progression over the years, this share reached 5.13 percent. French mothers do not only have their children at an older age, they mostly have their first born later. In 2014, more than 26 percent of newborns born from a mother aged 40 and older were their first child.

The most fertile country in Europe

Even though the mean age of mothers at first birth is increasing in most Western countries, it seems that women in France still have children at a younger age than most of their European counterparts. But French women are not only younger when they give birth, they also have more children. In 2017, France was the most fertile country in Europe with nearly 2 births per women. A number that has remained relatively stable for several years.