Parents' age and total fertility rate in selected high-income countries from Europe and North America, 1990-2020

Objective: To provide a comprehensive picture of trends in parents' age and total fertility rate in selected most populous high-income countries from Europe and North America.

Study design: Data were retrieved from official statistics published by the United Nations, the World Bank, the European Union (EU), and by national health statistics offices.

Results: Mean maternal age at birth showed increasing trends in all considered countries; in 2020, the highest mean age was observed in Italy (32.2) and Spain (32.3), and the lowest one in the USA (28.8). Mean maternal age at first birth also showed upward trends. In the 1990s, mean age at first birth ranged from 25.5 to 26.9 years, except for the USA where it was below 25 years. The countries with the highest average maternal age at first birth were Italy and Spain, reaching 31 years over the most recent years. Data on mean paternal age at birth were scant. In Germany (2019) it was 34.6 and in the USA (2014) 27.9 years. In Italy, mean paternal age increased from 34.2 in 2000 to 35.5 in 2018, in the UK from 30.7 in 1990 to 33.4 in 2017, and in Canada, a decrease was observed from 29.1 in 2006 to 28.3 in 2011. Finally, Sweden and the USA had the highest fertility rates, around two children in some years, while Italy and Spain had the lowest ones, with less than 1.5 children over the whole period.

Conclusions: Monitoring of trends in reproductive factors is crucial to gain insight into society from a cultural and sociological point of view and to analyze the impact of these changes on reproductive health and related conditions.