In brief
ABS data released on Nov. 6 shows Australia’s birth registrations grew 2.6% to 299,903 in 2025, with the total fertility rate climbing to 1.497 yet still well below the historical low of 1.5. The rise reflects higher rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and variations across states, notably Tasmania’s 1.568 and the ACT’s 1.283. Only Xinhua reported these figures.
Xinhua reported on Nov. 6 that Australia’s birth registrations increased 2.6 percent in 2025, reaching 299,903 registrations, an increment from the previous year. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) indicated the total fertility rate edged up to 1.497 babies per woman in 2025, though it remains below the historically low threshold of 1.5 and well beneath the 1.8 babies per woman observed in 2015.
ABS data also highlighted disparities across states and territories, with Tasmania registering the highest fertility rate at 1.568 babies per woman and the Australian Capital Territory the lowest at 1.283. Overall, fertility rates have declined across all states and territories over the past decade.
Beidar Cho, head of population statistics at the ABS, said in a statement that this is the third consecutive year the total fertility rate has remained under 1.5, emphasizing that the rate is still substantially below the 1.8 figure seen a decade earlier.
The data show an increase in the number of women of childbearing age, from 5.7 million in 2015 to 6.6 million in 2025.
"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," said Cho.
ABS also reported that 26,733 births were registered among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians in 2025, representing 8.9 percent of all births. The fertility rate for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women stood at 2.234 babies per woman in the same year. Only Xinhua has released these specific figures to date.
