The chart below gives information about the age of women in Australia when they give birth to their
first child in 1966, 1986 and 2006.
Sample Answer :
The bar chart compares the ages of Australian women when giving birth to their first child over three different years (1966, 1986, and 2006).
Overall, it can be seen that the average age that Australian women first gave birth increased over the forty year period. However, those aged 40 and over were always the lowest percentage of women giving birth to their first child.
In 1966, the most common age to give birth for the first time was between 20 and 24 years old, at over 60%, which was almost double that for those aged 25 to 29 and 19 or younger, at approximately 38% and 34%, respectively. Meanwhile, those aged 30 to 34, and 35 to 39 comprised approximately 10% each. The proportion of women aged 40 and over who gave birth for the first time was only 2%.
In 2006, the percentage of women who had their first child at the age of 19 and under, or 20 to 24 fell significantly to approximately 10% and 30% respectively. Additionally, the figures for the remaining age groups all rose significantly, with 25 to 29 year-olds at just over 40%, 30 to 34 year-olds at just under 50%, and 35 to 39 year-olds at around 30%. The percentage for women aged 40+ also rose slightly to about 3%.
