Australian Bureau of Statistics

Happy Mother’s Day! Here’s What Our Data Shows About Mums

Victor P Taffa

Did you know these facts about Mums?

• In 2012-13 there were 6,227,200 Australian women aged 18 and over who had given birth to children.
• In 2013, the median age of all mothers was 30.8 years, compared to 30.5 years in 2003.
• The age of first-time mothers varies quite a bit: In 2012-13, 11 % of all mums had their first child when under the age of 20 while 7 % were 35 years or older when they had their first child.
• In 2012-13, 59 % of Australian children (0-14 years) had mums who were employed: 37 % full time and 63 % part time.
• In June 2014, 71 % of working mums used alternative work arrangements to care for their children 0-12 years. Flexible work was used by 39 %, part time work by 38 % and 19 % worked at home.
• Also in June 2014, almost two in five (38 %) of women who ran their own business had children under 15, and nearly one in five (18 %), had a child aged 0-5.*
• Some mums have their children at home for a long time – in 2012-13, 17 % of 25-34 year olds had never moved out of home.

*unpublished data: Labour Force Survey, June 2014 (cat. No. 6202.0)