Births

Canada's crude birth rate (the number of live births for every 1,000 people in the population) fell to its all-time low in 2002 in the wake of another decline in the number of live births.

The crude birth rate dropped to 10.5 live births for every 1,000 population, the lowest since vital statistics began to be produced nationally in 1921. The rate has dropped 25.4% in the last 10 years alone.

In total, 328,802 babies were born in 2002, down 1.5% from the previous year. It was the 11th decline in the past 12 years.

The fertility rate, an entirely different measure, estimates the average number of children women aged 15 to 49 will have in their lifetime. It fell slightly from 1.51 per woman in 2001 to 1.50 per woman in 2002, which was only marginally above the record low of 1.49 set in 2000.

Internationally, fertility in Canada falls more or less midway between industrialized nations such as France, Australia and the United Kingdom, which have higher fertility rates, and Italy, Japan and Germany, which have lower rates.

The United States stands out from other industrialized countries, with a fertility rate of at least two children per woman in each year since 1989.

Nunavut stood apart with a fertility rate of 3.04, while among the provinces, Saskatchewan had the highest fertility rate (1.82). In contrast, Newfoundland and Labrador had the lowest fertility rate, at 1.31 per woman.

In Saskatchewan, the number of live births fell 4.2% to 11,761, the biggest decline among the provinces and territories.

On the other hand, women in Alberta had 38,691 babies, up 2.8%, the biggest gain. Alberta has recorded increases in the number of births in four of the last five years.

The biggest impact on the national statistics came from declines in live births in Ontario (-2.4%) and Quebec (-1.7%). Combined, these two provinces accounted for almost 4,400 fewer live births in 2002, representing 89% of the net decrease for the entire country.

Ontario and Quebec have experienced declines in the number of births in four of the last five years. British Columbia has incurred declines in all five years.

The average age of mothers in 2002 was 29.5 years, up a full year from 1992, when the average age was 28.4. On average, Nunavut mothers were the youngest among the three territories at 25.1 years old, while Saskatchewan mothers were the youngest on average among the provinces at 27.5 years.

On the other hand, at 30.3 years, Ontario mothers were the oldest on average among the provinces. Yukon mothers were the oldest on average among the territories at 29.0 years old.

Among the territories, by far the youngest first-time mothers were those in Nunavut, with an average age of 21.5 years in 2002. This age is over six years younger than the national average age of first-time mothers, 27.7 years. Among the provinces, first-time mothers in Saskatchewan were youngest, with an average age of 25.2. At 28.5 years, first-time mothers in British Columbia and Ontario were the oldest.

Twenty years ago, the majority of live births in Canada were to mothers aged 20 to 29 years. Mothers in their 20s gave birth to 66.2% of babies in 1982. Only 47.9% of births were to mothers in this age group in 2002.

Since that time, the proportion of births to mothers in their 30s has grown, particularly for mothers in their early 30s. By 2002, 44.8% of births were to mothers aged 30 to 39, up from only 23.0% of births in 1982.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 3231.

The publication Births, 2002 (84F0210XIE, free), which contains tables on live births and stillbirths, is now available. From the Our products and services page, under Browse our Internet publications, choose Free, then Health.

For general information or to order custom tabulations, contact Client Services (613-951-1746; hd-ds@statcan.gc.ca). To enquire about the concepts, methods or data quality of this release, contact Patricia Tully (613-951-1759; patricia.tully@statcan.gc.ca) or Leslie Geran (613-951-5243; leslie.geran@statcan.gc.ca), Health Statistics Division.