The bar chart illustrates the percentage of females in Australia becoming mothers for the first time categorized by different age groups in 1966, 1986, and 2006.
Over the forty year period, the percentage of teen moms and young adult mothers decreased significantly, while the ratio of females delivering their first child in their mid to late twenties fluctuated over the years. However, the percentage of first time moms who were in their early thirties readily went up.
It can be seen from the graph, that females giving birth for their first born under nineteen went down from a third of the given population in 1966 to just above 10% by 2006, showing an almost 20% reduction. Similarly, women aged nineteen to twenty-four who have given birth to their first child decreased significantly from 61% in 1966 to approximately 30% in 2006, which is half of that the original ratio.
In contrast, the other age groups showed different trends, with the percentage of females in their early thirties increasing gradually over the given period from just 12% in 1966 to 45% in 2006, which is almost three times more than that in 1966. Moreover, the ratio of women in their mid to late twenties who gave birth to their first child peaked in 1986 at 50% which is almost 10% more than that in 1966 and 2006. Females over forty remained a minority over the forty year period with just below 5%.