Half of women are now childless at thirty for the first time ever

More than half of women have not had a child by the time they turn 30 for the first time ever, official statistics showed today.

Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures show 53 per cent of women born in 1991 were childless by their 30th birthday last year.

The proportion was the highest on record, having dropped to just 18 per cent during the early 1970s.

That was the same proportion as those who remained childless by the age of 45 last year, the ONS figures showed. 

The findings continue a long-term trend of people opting to have children later in life and reduce family size, the ONS said. 

The most common age to have a child was 31 for women born in 1975, the latest date available to encompass all childbearing ages.

It was nine years later than the most common age for women born back in 1949 to give birth. 

The ONS data also shows the average number of children a woman has had by the age of 30 (dark blue line) has been dropping since 1971, when it stood at 1.89.

The ONS data shows the rate of childlessness in women aged 30 has been increasing consistently since around 1978, when it stood at around 21 per cent.

After briefly dipping from 2009 to 2013 — when the rate was around 45 per cent — it picked back up again over the past few years.

Last year, it breached the 50 per cent mark for the first time, with the majority of women choosing not to or unable to have a child by the time they turn 30.

Amanda Sharfman, an ONS statistician, said: ‘We continue to see a delay in childbearing, with women born in 1990 becoming the first cohort where half of the women remain childless by their 30th birthday. 

‘Levels of childlessness by age 30 have been steadily rising since a low of 18 per cent for women born in 1941. 

‘Lower levels of fertility in those currently in their 20s indicate that this trend is likely to continue.’

The ONS data also shows the average number of children a woman has had by the age of 30 has been dropping since 1971, when it stood at 1.89.

Last year, it dropped to 0.89, its lowest ever level, showing the drop off in family sizes for people in their 20s.

Ms Sharfman said: ‘The average number of children born to a woman has been below two for women born since the late 1950’s. 

‘While two child families are still the most common, women who have recently completed their childbearing are more likely than their mothers’ generation to have only one child or none at all.’