The given chart illustrates the percentage of women of different age groups having their first baby between 1966 and 2006.
Overall, there was a decline in the proportion of women aged under 19 and from 25 to 30 years old giving birth to their first child, while a rise was observed in other age groups, including the 25-30, 30-34, 34-39 and over 40 age group. In addition, the oldest group consistently had the lowest figures throughout the period.
The percentage of the youngest group giving birth to their first child started at about 35%, after which it saw a significant decrease to 20%, before ending the period at around 12%. Similar change, but to a greater extent, was seen in the figure for those aged 19-24, which dropped from 62% in 1966 to 38% in 2006. Besides, the share of the 25-30 age group was at 37% in 1966, with a drastic jump to a peak at 50% by 1986, followed by a dip to 39% in 2006.
Approximately 13% of women 30-34 years of age mothered a child in 1996, with a subsequent growth to 28% 10 years later, and a final increase to 45% in 2006. Similar changes, but to a lesser extent, can be seen in the figures for women aged 34-39 and over 40 years old, which went up from 8% to sharply 30% and from around 3% to 5% respectively.