In brief
The Australian Bureau of Statistics recorded 299,903 births in 2025, up 2.6% from 2024, and a total fertility rate of 1.497 babies per woman. State‑level data reveal stark disparities, with Tasmania’s rate at 1.568 and the Australian Capital Territory at 1.283, and Indigenous women’s rate at 2.234. The ABS notes a 9% share of births among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, but the overall fertility trend remains far below historical levels, raising questions about long‑term demographic consequences.
Australia recorded 299,903 registered births in 2025, a 2.6 percent increase from the previous year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) announced Friday, citing national birth registration data. The jump, while modest, marks a continued upward trend in newborn numbers after a period of gradual decline.
That rise is mirrored by a small rise in the country’s total fertility rate, which edged up from 1.481 in 2024 to 1.497 babies per woman in 2025. Despite this uptick the figure remains well below the 1.5 threshold that many demographers consider minimally viable, and far lower than the 1.8 rate recorded in 2015.
Beidar Cho, ABS head of population statistics, said in a statement, “This is the third consecutive year the total fertility rate for Australia has been below 1.5 and is well below the 1.8 babies per woman seen a decade earlier in 2015.”
The ABS also noted that the number of women of childbearing age in Australia rose from 5.7 million in 2015 to 6.6 million in 2025, a shift that has been accompanied by a steady, though uneven, growth in birth registrations across the nation.
State‑level data reveal wide disparities. Tasmania posted the highest fertility rate at 1.568 babies per woman, while the Australian Capital Territory reported the lowest at 1.283. Cho added that fertility rates have declined across all states and territories over the last decade, even as overall birth numbers have mounted.
In a demographic segment that consistently exhibits higher fertility, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women recorded a rate of 2.234 babies per woman last year. The ABS listed 26,733 births among Indigenous Australians in 2025, comprising 8.9 percent of all births nationwide.
These figures come amid ongoing discussions about the demographic future of Australia. Critics point to the low overall fertility rate as a potential driver of future labor shortages and increased dependency ratios, while some commentators emphasize the modest rise in births as a hopeful sign that policy or cultural shifts may begin to counterbalance the long‑term decline.
At the time of the ABS release, social scientists emphasized that while the aggregate data show a small uptick, the underlying factors—such as housing affordability, childcare accessibility, and changing family‑planning attitudes—remain poorly quantified. The institution has yet to provide a detailed analysis of the drivers behind the observed changes in both the total fertility rate and state‑specific variations.
The ABS has also not yet clarified how the 2025 birth data might translate into future population projections. Demographers remain uncertain whether the recent uptick will signal a broader comeback or simply represent a short‑term fluctuation within a persistent low‑fertility trajectory.
What remains unresolved, the ABS acknowledged, is the extent to which the 2025 figures will alter long‑term demographic projections or justify shifts in immigration, education, and employment policies designed to balance an ageing population with the needs of a growing number of children. These questions remain central to policy debates as Australia seeks to navigate its demographic future while addressing the stark inequalities revealed by the new data.
