More women delaying having children

Demographic development was affecting the age of the population, the number of workers, pensions and consumption, expert Maja Miljanic Brinkworth told the Social Affairs Committee.

Dr Miljanic Brinkworth said that fertility in Malta had dropped to 1.3 births per woman and women were constantly delaying having children. A rate of 2.1 births for every woman was needed for the country to be demographically sustainable, she said.

She added that this drop in fertility was bigger than in other southern European states.

Dr Miljanic Brinkworth said that a study she carried out showed that the average age of mothers bearing their first child had gone up from 25 years six months in 1999 to 26 years seven months in 2006. The period until they had their second child had increased from one year nine months in 2001 to three years three months in 2006.

In 2000, 61 percent of mothers gave birth to their second child at 28. In 2006, the percentage of women giving birth to their second child at 28 dropped to 25.