Average Age of Mothers in Ontario at Birth (1991-2023)

Over the past three decades, Ontario has seen a dramatic shift in the age at which women are giving birth. Births among teens and women in their early twenties have declined sharply, while more women are now having children in their 30s and 40s. This trend has significant implications for healthcare, maternal support systems, and long-term social planning in Canada’s most populous province.

Teen Births Have Plummeted

In 1991, 5% of births in Ontario were to mothers aged 15–19. By 2023, that figure had dropped to just 0.9%. The under-15 category has remained at zero throughout the period. This sharp decline reflects better access to contraception, improved sex education, and broader cultural changes surrounding early motherhood.

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Steep Drop in Births Among Women Aged 20–24

Mothers in the 20–24 age bracket once accounted for 17.3% of all births in Ontario in 1991. That number has dropped significantly to 6.8% by 2023. This trend supports national data showing that Canadian women are increasingly delaying motherhood in favour of education and career goals.

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25–29 Years: A Declining but Still Important Group

While still a major age group for childbirth, the 25–29 age range has seen a steady decline—from 38.8% of all births in 1991 to 23.8% in 2023. This cohort remains vital to overall fertility trends but is clearly being overtaken by older age groups.

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Mothers in Their 30s: The New Norm

The biggest growth has occurred among women aged 30–34 and 35–39:

• 30–34 years: Rose from 28.4% in 1991 to 40.1% in 2023.
• 35–39 years: Grew from 9.3% in 1991 to 23.1% in 2023.

This makes women in their 30s the most common age group for childbirth in Ontario today, representing nearly two-thirds of all births.

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More Women Giving Birth in Their 40s

Women aged 40–44 represented 1.2% of births in 1991, but by 2023, that number had quadrupled to 4.8%. Although still a minority, this group is steadily growing. Even the 45–49 group, once negligible, now contributes 0.4% to total births.

Percentage of Births by Age of Mother in Ontario:

Age of mother	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023
under 15 years	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
15 to 19 years	5	5.1	5.2	5.3	5.3	5	4.5	4.7	4.4	4.3	3.9	3.8	3.6	3.3	3.3	3.4	3.3	3.4	3.3	3.2	3	2.8	2.6	2.3	2.1	1.8	1.7	1.4	1.3	1.2	0.9	0.9	0.9
20 to 24 years	17.3	17	16.7	16.3	15.8	15.2	14.8	15.1	14.8	15	14.1	14	13.6	13.4	13.2	13.3	13.2	13	12.8	12.4	12.2	11.7	11.3	11.3	10.6	10.3	9.8	9	8.6	8.2	7.2	7	6.8
25 to 29 years	38.8	36.6	34.7	33.7	31.9	31.2	31	30.5	30.2	29.8	29.7	29.6	29.5	29.5	28.4	28.1	27.5	27.8	27.6	27.5	27.8	27.7	27.4	27.3	27	26.7	26.3	26	25.6	25.1	24.3	23.6	23.8
30 to 34 years	28.4	29.9	31.3	31.9	33	33.3	33.2	32.5	32.5	32.3	33.4	33.4	33.7	34.1	35	34.7	35	34.8	35	34.9	35	35.5	36.2	36.3	36.8	37.5	37.4	37.7	38.2	38.8	40.2	40	40.1
35 to 39 years	9.3	9.9	10.7	11.2	12.2	13.4	14.2	14.8	15.4	15.8	16	16.2	16.4	16.3	16.7	17	17.5	17.4	17.5	17.9	17.9	18.1	18.3	18.6	19.2	19.4	20.3	21.1	21.4	21.7	22.6	23.1	23.1
40 to 44 years	1.2	1.3	1.4	1.6	1.7	1.9	2.1	2.2	2.5	2.6	2.8	2.9	3.1	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.3	3.4	3.5	3.8	3.8	3.9	3.9	3.9	4	3.9	4.2	4.3	4.5	4.6	4.5	5	4.8
45 to 49 years	0	0	0	0	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.1	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.2	0.3	0.2	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.3	0.4	0.3	0.4	0.4

Source:

Source Name:	Statistics Canada. Table 13-10-0416-01. Live births, by age of mother.
Source Link:	https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/t1/tbl1/en/cv.action?pid=1310041601
Release Date:	2024-09-25