EU women having first children late - statistics

European statistics authority, Eurostat, reporting the median age on Tuesday said that an average woman in Europe has her first child at the age of 29.7.

The average age of first-time mothers has risen continuously since 2013, when it was 28.8 years, Eurostat said.

However, there is variation within the region.

Women in Spain and Italy were having their first child at the age of 31.6, followed by Luxembourg at 31.3 years and Ireland at 31.2 years.

In contrast, women have their first child comparatively early in the Eastern European countries, with Bulgaria women starting their families at the average age of 26.5.

Women would need to have 2.1 children on average to maintain population sizes without immigration, the authority said.

Meanwhile, women in all EU member states had an average of 1.53 children in 2021.