The bar chart compares the ages of Australian women when they give birth to their first child over three different years.
Overall, the chart clearly shows that most women who had their first child were between the ages of 19 and 24, while women over 40 had the fewest births in the three-year period.
According to the data, women aged 19-24 years old were at the highest rate in 1966, at 60%. The rate, however, gradually decreased until it reached below 30% forty years later. Similarly, teenage women (under 19 years old) showed a downward trend throughout the period as well, from around 35% in 1966 to below 15% at the end of the period.
On the other hand, the number of women aged 30 to 34 giving birth grew by 30% over four years. A similar pattern was seen in women aged 34 to 39, though their increase was about 20% over forty years. The percentage of women aged 25 to 30 having their first babies increased from 35% in 1966 to 50% in 1986, then dropped by about 12% over the next 20 years. Throughout this time, women over 40 had the lowest birth rate compared to other age groups.