Birth rates at highest level in nearly 20 years

ROSS GIBLIN/Dominion Post

BABY BOOM: The birth rate in March was at its highest since March 1991, with an average of 2.2 births per woman.

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New Zealand's birth rate is at its highest level in close to 20 years, according to new figures from Statistics New Zealand.

The birth rate in March was at its highest since March 1991, with an average of 2.2 births per woman.

The highest peak in recorded birth rates was in 1961, when the rate was 4.3 births per woman.

Birth rates for March this year increased by almost 1000 from last year, with 64,160 live births recorded this year compared to 63,250 in the year to March 2008.

The statistics, released today, also showed women are having babies about five years later than women in the mid-1960s. The median age for women giving birth is now 30 years, compared with 25 years in 1969.

Registered deaths in the year to March 2009 totalled 29,150, up from 28,300 last year.

The number of deaths was projected to continue to increase, surpassing 40,000 a year by 2031 and 60,000 by 2056.

Government statistician Geoff Bascand said the number had gradually increased over time due to population growth, particularly in the older ages, partly offset by longer life expectancy.

Today's statistics illustrated that increase in life expectancy, showing a newborn girl can now expect to live an average of 82.2 years and a newborn boy 78.2 years, a 1.1-year increase for girls and a 1.9-year increase for boys since 2000-02.

- NZPA