Dutch mothers have their first child at age 29

Average age no longer rising

THE HAGUE - The average age of women in the Netherlands who gave birth now is 31.1 years. For mothers with their first child, this is 29.4 years. The age statistic has been stable since 2004.

In an international context, the average age of women in the Netherlands when they become mothers is very high, but is no longer rising. The recently released statistics for 2006, published by the Central Bureau for Statistics, are unchanged from 2005 and almost the same as for the years 2004 and 2003.

In 1950, Dutch women were on average 26.4 years of age when they gave birth to their first child. This had dropped to 24.3 years of age in 1969. In the years after that, the average age climbed again, to a high of 29.4 in 2004.