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In 2026, New Zealand's total fertility rate is 1.64 children per woman, below the 2.1 replacement level. Over the preceding five years it has held broadly steady. About 58 thousand babies are born a year, a crude birth rate of 11.0 per 1,000. Its net reproduction rate sits at 0.79, well below the 1.0 that marks generational replacement. Women are having children later in life, at a mean age of 30.8 years, up from 26.5 in 1980. By 2100, projections see it holding near 1.63 children per woman.
Fertility rate
1.64 children/woman
Birth rate
11.0 per 1,000 people
Total births
58K
Mean age at birth
30.8 years
New Zealand's fertility rate has fallen dramatically from 4.3 children per woman in 1961 to 1.64 today, below the 2.1 replacement level. Women are also having children later: mean age at childbearing has risen from 26.5 to 30.8 since 1980.